St. Peter's Cathedral in Rabat and "the holidays"

Over the past few months, I've had the honor of seeing some important Muslim holidays through the eyes of Moroccan hosts. This week and last, however, I was able to experience Western holidays through the lens of the Moroccan experience.

I went to Christmas Eve mass at Rabat's Cathédrale St. Pierre. It turns out, I know the priest who said the mass -- he's in my Derija class on Wednesday and Friday and I had no idea that his profession was actually of the cloth. The service itself was in French, largely catering to the sub-Saharan communities that are evident in somewhat small numbers in Rabat. A few French where there, as well as a diplomats in a limo and a television news crew.

I nearly missed the service because the train from Fès was running late. The Casaouis in the train car with me were every bit as concerned as me that I be on time ... they checked their watches right along with me, and were very adamantly hoping that I make it, in'shallah.



On Christmas day, I taught Cataloging and Document Analysis for 4 hours, as part of my usual Thursday routine. One of my students realized it was a Western holiday and brought a chocolate cake for us to share, which was very kind, indeed.

And now, on New Year's Day, Moroccans and I finally converge in terms of our holidays, and I have a day off for New Year's Day. Shopping's been open, but it's a government holiday and the schools are closed. The Muslims also just celebrated their new year's holiday, in accordance with the Muslim calendar, this past Monday. The bombings in Palestine are being acknowledged by religious leaders in the Muslim world, and Moroccans have been instructed to act in solidarity instead of celebrating at this point in time.

Despite concern over the Middle East, today has been very enjoyable. The day was sunny and dry; it felt like spring. Surely the good weather can't last, but one can be tempted to hope.