Reply #12: Many Egyptian Muslims celebrate Xmas.

[onager]

I just spent several years living in Alexandria, Egypt. During late November - December, I saw Santa, elves, reindeer and even the occasional creche in many stores.

This Xmas stuff can't be solely for the benefit of the native Coptic Xians. They are only about 5% of the population, and don't celebrate Xmas until January 8 anyhow. (They follow the Orthodox calendar.)

From my atheist POV, it seems that the Egyptians have kept the best parts of Xmas (like giving gifts) and dumped the worst parts (like Jesus).

For the record, Muslim kids have the equivalent of 2 Xmases already, with the two big Eid celebrations. They traditionally get gifts of new clothes, toys for younger kids, and money for teens. Though in these modern times, they prefer pre-paid credit cards instead of real money. I heard that from many Egyptian Dads.

I also saw the big temporary vendor booths go up a few days before the Eid celebrations in Alexandria. They were crammed with kid-sized clothes and cheap toys. Mostly made in China, of course.