Having a small ride round the town would give you a feeling of a Jordanian Christmas. The city is somehow alight with Christmas trees and decorations, the local radio stations play the Christmas songs and count down the hours till Christmas. The Queen lights the Fuhais Christmas tree in a Jordanian Inter-faith Initiative.
December 25th is now a public holiday enjoyed by Muslims and Christians alike.
A lovely painted picture of a moderate Jordan; the country we aspire to be; where friends of all faiths are welcome - So change is happening, and now Christians are practicing their full religious rights alongside their Muslim friends. A Middle-Eastern success story amidst the turmoil and sectarian-infused havoc of our region.
Which makes me wonder…
Are we too obsessed with fighting to be the moderate model we aspire to be that our attempts at achieving our goals seem a bit over-done sometimes!
I know - although I am no expert - that in marketing strategies; simplicity is the key to winning most of the time, and we seem to over-do every thing while branding our country with modernization and moderation, that we might not be really winning!
In any case, a celebration of a Jordanian Christmas to please Jordanian Christians is a noble thing, especially that they constitute about 7% of the population, regardless of the marketing and branding agendas involved. Although, looking beyond the glitz and tinsel, some Jordanian laws are still pretty tough when inter-faith relations are concerned.
But, shall we forget all that and enjoy a…
Merry Moderate Christmas - Jordanian Style!
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