I just sent an email to a high school classmate whom I've only met a few times since graduation in 1977. I was mentioning how nice it is to be in Canada with the Christmas season approaching.Even when working in the Persian Gulf, I was always able to celebrate December 25th. In Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates people were always respectful of the holiday. The toughest place was Saudi Arabia. I heard rumours that Christian Filipinos were arrested and flogged for just selling Christmas cards. It's hard to know if this actually happened or if it was just one of many local urban myths. Most things don't make it into the newspapers so information via rumours is a way of life.
Public places, such as shopping malls, cannot put up decorations that show any other than the state religion in Saudi Arabia. Yet, much of expat life takes place in housing compounds where people reside. In the confines of these secret areas people can do just about whatever they desire.
Click the graphic to load a PDF copy of a publication that I made for a Christmas program when teaching at the Saudi Royal Navy in Dammam.