Another Christian holiday has come and gone for us here in the UAE, where the laws and supermarkets and work schedules are all governed by Islam. What this means for us and our celebration of Easter is digging deep into our pockets to purchase forbidden holiday sundry items such as ham and champagne, going out of our way to the Dubai Choithrams market whose holiday aisle includes chocolate bunnies, and the most strange thing is pretending it’s Easter when it’s actually Good Friday, since Sunday is a work day.
On Good Friday, we had 35 people join us for brunch, where we served leg of lamb as well as a large chunk of expensive French ham, along with quiche, mimosas, bunny cake and various salads and sides brought by our friends and colleagues. Our friend Heather even brought freshly risen dough and baked Challah in our uneven, hot-on-the-bottom Egyptian oven. Mini egg-shaped cupcakes were decorated by all the kids with our helper Chamry and her sister Ishara, and Billy and his Frisbee pals escaped for a half-hour of tossing the disc on the sandy roads around our house.
Holy Saturday was a special work day for me, and I spent half the day proctoring the local equivalent of the SAT exam. Though I was sulky about working on the weekend, the kids and Billy barely noticed my absence, and they spent the day eating chocolate and party leftovers.
Easter Sunday was a regular work day for me, but Billy’s company lets their people choose any religion and celebrate its holidays, so he was off work with kids while I tromped grumpily off to the office, again. It turned out to be a perfect day for swimming, so they made a day of it and went to Mamzar Beach Park, where they spent hours in the pools and at the beach on the Arabian Gulf (known as the Persian Gulf in America).
Finally, I made it home by 3:30 on Easter, just in time to help the kids shake off the sand, put on fresh Easter clothes (sent by Grandma) and head off to St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Sharjah, where just like at home, mobs of extra people (mostly Indian and Phillipino) showed up for Easter Sunday mass. Once again, as I’ve posted before, St. Joseph’s is an exultant experience, with loud and earnest singing, a pious Indian priest and a truly joyous observance of the most important Christian holiday.
4 comments:
The Easter celebration sounds like one good time. It looked like that ham bone was picked clean, not much left for bean or split pea soup. I'm curious about the items on the plate that Brady & friend were examining. It looks foreign to me. Yes, from my memory, the singing at St. Michael's church is loud but very heart felt. Kind of reminds me of singing in that little church in Remer, Minnesota.
Mom
The plate Brady & friend Sam are looking at is not exotic at all - those are egg-shaped cupcakes (made from a box) decorated by kids at our Easter brunch..
When did you acquire a piano????
Hi Watts family in the UAE. Just wanted you to know that the Watts-Watson's here in Hampton, VA enjoy learning about your adventures by reading your blog regularly. Love the family photos; it's especially nice to see the children growing up. Congrats Christina on being accepted for your second year... Larry says to tell you he is still thinking about visiting. Aunt Rosanna and Uncle Norman say hello. Take care.
Love, Cousin Lisa
Post a Comment