There was a time, not long ago, when even just a mere mention of the words "Merry Christmas" was banned in the Middle East. Those days our kabayans resorted to our mother tongue translation of " Maligayang Pasko " to greet each other in public places.Fortunately, for us who have just recently joined the OFW bandwagon in Middle East, we can celebrate the season as open as what we do in 'Pinas. And since Dubai is made up of about 70% foreigner population (excluding the tourist visa holders ), it makes good sense for the locals and other non Christian nationals to allow and accept this annual and most awaited holiday for Christians.
And this attitude is very visually evident in public places like shopping malls. Last weekend, we visited an upscale mall called Wafi City which has a giant white christmas tree in the main lobby and other display installations on every node of the mall passage with the movie Narnia as the motif. They even have some kind of a wardrobe wherein you can go inside and experience the make believe world of Narnia just like in the movie. Of course, they charge some good bucks for this! And the people are queueing. And I don't mean just pinoys or europeans but arabs, too.
