Hallowe’en is taken very seriously. Because most expats live on compounds, the
tricking and treating is always safe, and is a candy gold mine with the
sheer volume of houses to get through. Most people go all out with the
decorations on their homes.

My local expat chums and I would do a circuit of the island and come away with
anything but your standard Twix bars. We’d have novelty Japanese Hello Kitty
sweets, Lebanese Baklava, Indian Jalebi and caramel popcorn wrapped in
cellophane.

We’d go around, bags wide open, chorusing the ‘trick or treat’ anthem in the
dewy heat. There would be streaky makeup within 10 minutes, and a parent
crawling alongside in the car ready to pack us all in and take us to the
next compound. I did this well into my late teens. There’s no age
discrimination for Hallowe’en. If you want to be a senior citizen witch,
then you go for it.

The festival of Diwali also lights up the island. The front porches of
families who celebrate the five-day Hindu festival glow with tea lights and
when the Hindu festival of Holi comes around you start seeing polychrome
faces and shirts multiplying across the island.

It might be surprising, but even Armistice Day is commemorated. Some
supermarkets sell poppies at the check out counters for expats and I’ve even
seen Muslims donning the flower on their breast pocket. The two-minute
silence is observed too. The international school I went to always paused
for a moment’s silence at 2pm, three hours ahead of the same tradition in
the UK. On another British note, bonfire night goes down a treat at the
British clubs.

Of course, there’s no snow and crackling fireplaces to snuggle up to at
Christmas time, but there’s everything else. The shopping malls have their
festive lights hanging outside the shops, with displays of decked out trees
and fake presents collapsing on top of each other. In fact the island
dazzles during the Christmas season because Bahrain’s National Day falls on
December 16, which sees high wattage displays of festive lights coiled
around palm trees and buildings that stay on until January. So you do get
that buzz for Christmas, even if it is by default.

The age-old carols play in the background and the big hotels have their
makeshift Santa’s grottos set up – with people of all races sitting on
Santa’s lap. Last year I went to a hotel for Christmas brunch (brunch is a
huge deal in Bahrain) and got all the authentic slices of turkey, pots of
gravy, stacks of stuffing, rows of carrots and parsnips and a gooey pudding.

This is just my preference, but the biggest selling point for spending
Christmas in the Middle East is the balmy weather, which gives the option of
lazing in a swimming pool after a mammoth meal and catching a repeat of the
Queen’s Speech later on.

I’d say the only occasion that has twitched a few eyebrows is Greek Easter.
Every year the Hellenic society opens its arms to everyone, inviting people
to join the egg cracking, goat roasting and plate smashing. No health and
safety regulations seem to be involved, just lots of dancing in open toe
shoes while cheap china chunks shatter all over the place. After the initial
hesitant steps towards the dance floor there is a hearty shout of “Oooopa!”
and people of all nationalities become Greek for the night.

On a side note, expats like to dress up. I don’t know why, but fancy dress is
a thing in Bahrain. It’s more of a privilege to wear your own clothes to be
honest, as there are so many parties with a fancy dress theme. You often see
people dressed up as Elvis or Michael Jackson for no obvious reason.

It’s a two-way street. Locals get involved in Western traditions just as much
as expats get involved in Ramadan and Eid – well the eating part, at least.
Admittedly I did try to fast a few times during the holy month, but I
usually broke it at midday. It was always a Pop-Tart that did it.

Iftar, the meal eaten after the fast is broken, is a gastronomic affair of
lordly proportions that rolls into the small hours. There is more food right
until the last seconds of Suhoor, the meal before the fast begins again. The
three-day Eid celebration that follows is a family and food marathon.

Even as an expat I enjoyed the jollity of both Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha,
expecially as one of my dad’s Muslim colleagues used to give me money every
time. Even if expats have a shaky concept of the religious underpinning of
the traditions, long-gone former expats from the region still give a Ramadan
Kareem (happy Ramadan) or Eid Mubarak (blessed Eid) shout-out on Facebook.

The bottom line is, Bahrain celebrates more occasions than most people would
assume. There is Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day,
Thanksgiving and national holidays. Any excuse for lip-smackingly good food
and a gathering of people is a done deal.

Georgie Bradley is a freelance journalist who grew up in Bahrain. Follow
her on Twitter @georgiebradley6