A Jordanian Christmas

The National Christmas Tree It goes without saying that having your parents around for Christmas adds a unique flavor to the festive season. There is the quality time, the shared laughs and of course the memories created.

My parents came all the way from Amman to celebrate the holidays with us. In addition to the memorable time we are having with them, we have also been enjoying the authentic Jordanian/Middle Eastern atmosphere they brought along.

Since my parent’s arrival we have been waking up to the smell of Turkish coffee and to the sight of olive oil and thyme (along with Arabic (pita) bread) on the kitchen table. For breakfast, we are eating Labaneh and drinking tea just like the good old days. Our dinners are no longer meat loaf and macaroni and cheese but Magloubeh, Koussa bilaban and Freekeh. Our stereo is no longer playing Thievery Corporation and Robbie Robertson but Nancy Ajram and the best of Arab Pop for 2006.

The New Yorker and The Economist no longer occupy a prime place in our magazine racks. Instead, they have been replaced by Layalina and other brand new glossy Jordanian publications. I guess in a way we are celebrating the holidays the Jordanian way. Life doesn’t get any better.

Jordan and the Mormon Church

Reader Jen left a detailed comment today on my post entitled "Man on a mission," explaining the position of the Mormon Church on a number of issues — including the Israel-Palestine conflict. She also mentioned something I was completely unaware of. In her comment, she stated that Jordan actually recognizes the Mormon Church:

I do commend the state of Jordan for being the only Muslim country to officially recognize the Mormon church and to allow people in Jordan to worship in the open.

This was news to me. I had always thought that the Mormon Church had not been allowed to set up shop in the Kingdom. After doing some Googling, I found this:

In 1989, Jordan became the first Arab country to grant formal recognition to the [Mormon] Church, allowing it to establish the Center for Cultural and Educational Affairs in Amman.

To make my position clear, I do not agree with many of the teachings of the Mormon Church but I am all for facilitating the freedom of religion in Jordan and elsewhere.

Read Jen’s full comment here.

Snapshot: Santa convention

Santa Convention While driving around the National Mall in DC last weekend, we came across something that resembled some sort of a Santa Convention. What we saw was more than two dozen Santas gathered in front of the entrance to the Smithsonian National History Museum. The Santas were not doing anything special besides just hanging out.

My mother-in-law and I approached the congregation and asked one of the Santas about the reason for this mammoth gathering. His reply was simple: "It’s Christmas!" Good answer.

A few days later, I was reading John and Jenny’s blog when I realized that they too had come across a similar scene in Seattle. After following the link on their blog, I discovered that what we had stumbled upon in DC was a special group that goes by the name Santarchy and/or Santacon. This is how they describe themselves:

Every December for the last 13 years, Cacophonous Santas have been visiting cities around the world, engaging in a bit of Santarchy as part of the annual Santacon events. It all started back in 1994 when several dozen Cheap Suit Santas paid a visit to downtown San Francisco for a night of Kringle Kaos. Things have reached Critical Xmas and Santarchy is now a global phenomenon. You’d better watch out! Santa’s coming to town!

Merry Christmas everyone!

One of Santa's helpers Elvin mischief

In more Santa-related sightings, apparently globally there are a number of mass Santa convocations. Some suggest it is a sure sign of the apocalypse. These images document a gathering of Santas, called "Sinister Santas," in Moscow. This article suggests something more than Christmas merriment afoot: "Its purpose and appearance had been painstakingly created to appear benign. Few of the 70,000 or so who gathered were older than teenagers and their uniforms were so incongruous as to be unthreatening … according to Russia’s liberal democrats, scenes like this are less a display of benevolence than a show of force … As the youngsters swayed … a voice boomed out from the loudspeakers exhorting them to reinvent Russia’s lost glory. "Let the miracle happen," the voice cried out. "Let heart reach out to heart so our country can rise once more."

Ode to the library

Thousand_years_l2 One of the things that I enjoy about where we currently live is the easy access to our local library. I have no idea why it took over a year since our exodus from the Middle East for me to join the library. I guess it is because I am used to buying books without thinking twice, as I’m one of those that feels like a kid in a candy store when surrounded by books. I used to buy and buy, then I end up hating most of the books I own and eventually I give them away.

Lately, things have changed. Thanks to the encouragement of Rob and Jenny, I finally managed to drag myself down to the closest library, which turned out to be less than a mile away, and I got myself a free membership. Life was no longer the same after joining the library.

I’m hooked! I go there every other day. I check out books and DVDs like there is no tomorrow. The most fascinating thing for me about our local library is the on-line catalog. I was blown away when I realized that I could browse an on-line catalog of all the libraries in our county, put books on hold, and pick them up from our local branch! It’s that simple! During the past two days I’ve checked out: The Namesake, The Haunted, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, Let It be Morning, The Edukadors, Lucia Lucia, among others. When it comes to due dates, I really like having a deadline. It makes my reading more focused and more efficient. And if I ever fail to meet my deadline, I simply go on-line and click the "renew" button.

I never thought of checking out books from the library when I was in Jordan. I don’t know why. Maybe it was because there was only one major library back then and it did not have many of the books I wanted. So I gave up and started spending a big chunk of my money on books. Today, I only buy the books that I really want to own.

I hope that Jordan can one day establish top-notch local libraries. I know many in Jordan who crave good books but cannot afford them or can never find them. Having access to a local library would make many Jordanians happy!