Ringing in the New Year, Ex Pat Style

Well, as I discussed last time, celebrating Christmas here in Saudi Arabia requires many adaptations and innovations, and many ex pats prove to be very creative and determined in this respect. New Year's Eve, another essential holiday for Westerners, also poses many challenges.

Firstly, Saudi Arabia follows the hijra (Islamic) calendar, which is about 11 days shorter than the Western calendar. Thus, the "new year" for them happens several days before Christmas--although they view this as a relatively minor date. Thus, most Westerners can expect to work on New Year's, unless the date falls on the Saudi weekend of Thursday and Friday.

Now, many people enjoy spending New Year's Eve in the quiet company of their family, playing games or watching movies, counting down till midnight. However, to many others, the idea of New Year's is irrevocably tied to the idea of parties and, of course, alcohol.

Unfortunately for these convivial souls, alcohol is outlawed in the Kingdom. Still, true to the typical ex-pat spirit, many have formed a sort of underground "moonshine" network. Swapping recipes for wine, rum, and whiskey, and brewing their precious liquids in bathtubs and closets, many Westerners here in Jeddah are well-stocked not only on New Year's, but year-round.

Nicknamed "sid" (short for siddiqi, "my friend"), this homemade alcohol is abundant at some expat functions, transported in under abayas, or in purses and briefcases. Recently, a certain woman member of this underground circle invented a specialized canvas bag for transporting sid. It is designed with two pockets sewn on opposite sides of the bag, shaped perfectly for the glass juice bottles into which sid is typically poured. I chuckled when a friend of mine told me about these bags, and we exchanged one of our "only in this country" looks.

As for parties, well, there a few that ex-pats can choose from, usually hosted at several different Western compounds. Partiers have to sign up ahead of time, show ID at the gate, and be 'sponsored' by an actual resident of the compound. Women will hide their sequined, skimpy New Years attire under their shapeless black abayas, concealing sid in one of the locations previously discussed.

It is impossible to say how much the compound security personnel know/suspect about these parties. Perhaps we are as good at keeping up appearances as we like to think; perhaps it would simply be too much of a headache to try and REALLY crack down on these parties. Regardless, most parties go off without a hitch. I've always said that some of the hardest partiers I know of are the men and women here, who, after prolonged periods of protocol and gender segregation, find themselves momentarily beyond the reach of sharia law and rigid societal expectations. That feeling of fleeting liberation, combined with the magical powers of sid, certainly provide the basis for a pretty "wild" party.