There is not much information on the network about how the New Year is celebrated in the United Arab Emirates. Someone will say that the country is Arab and the holiday, it seems, is not quite theirs. But, in fact, this is not at all the case. New Year is a common holiday, and it occurs in many countries, regardless of the religious affiliation of the inhabitants.
How to celebrate the new year in the UAE
It is worth noting that the New Year in the UAE is celebrated more than once! Residents of the UAE respect the Lunar calendar, according to which there are 354 days a year, and all religious holidays are calculated according to this calendar.
- Muslim new year
For reference: the Muslim New Year is a religious holiday without reference to a date. The date of the celebration is constantly changing, moving back 11 days annually. Therefore, according to the Muslim calendar, today we have the year 1439. This holiday is met calmly and without a big scale. In 2017, it passed - from September 21 to 22.
- Traditional New Year
The second time the New Year is celebrated in the Emirates on the night of December 31 to January 1, traditionally, as in most countries of the world. This holiday is held with fun and on a large scale.
The largest fireworks in the world
Residents of the UAE tend to shock the rest of the world with the size of their hotels, skyscrapers, recreation parks and more. In 2009, the UAE conquered the whole world with the largest fireworks display, which entered the Guinness Book of Records.
It is customary to celebrate the New Year in the UAE with fireworks. The main events take place near the Burj Al Arab Hotel on Jameirah Beach, as well as at the Atlantis Hotel. Each hotel tries to make the maximum impression on the arriving tourists. And there are so many tourists these days that you have to take places to watch the fire show in advance.
For those who are not eager to contemplate the delightful fireworks, entertainment programs are provided in hotels with a Christmas tree, Santa Claus and Snow Maiden. When choosing a hotel, pay attention to the duration of the New Year's program. In some hotels, the festivities end with the chimes, which very often discourages tourists from the CIS countries. Therefore, clarify this point in advance, so that later there will be no conflict situations.
By the way, prices for tours to the UAE during the New Year celebrations increase by an average of 2-2.5 times. Although, even this does not stop those wishing to celebrate this cheerful holiday in the Emirates.
If you are ready, then there is still time to book tickets and hotel!
New Year and spirits in the UAE
Remember - spirits in the UAE under a strict ban and on New Year's Eve! Even in relatively liberal Dubai, we strongly discourage you from drinking anything on the street or in any other public place other than a hotel and restaurant where drinking is allowed.
Otherwise, your mood can be very badly spoiled by the police, and as a New Year's gift there is a chance to get a night at the police station and a substantial fine. And in Sharjah you will have to do without alcoholic beverages - there, as you know, drinking is completely prohibited.
What other options are there for meeting the New Year
If you are not interested in fireworks, and gatherings at the hotel are boring, then you can choose an alternative option for celebrating the New Year in the UAE. What else does the Emirates offer:
- New Year's jeep safari to the desert to the Bedouins. Exotic? - More than! Instead of snow, sand, campfire gatherings and a bewitching belly dance. Most of the guides offer this program. The estimated cost is about 100 USD per person.
- Beach parties are another way to celebrate the New Year in Dubai in an interesting and exciting way. Discos from December 31 to January 1 on the beach with the participation of world famous DJs. The cost of such parties varies depending on the hotel on the beach of which they are held, the drinks included, the program and the stars who are performing. The split can be from 100 to 1000 USD.
If you celebrate the New Year in other Emirates
Remember, Dubai is the most pompous New Year. Neighboring emirates do it more modestly. Fireworks are also given in Abu Dhabi in honor of the arrival of the new year. If you are in Ajman, Sharjah or Ras Al Khaimah and decide to visit Dubai for the New Year, then take care of leaving in advance.
By lunchtime on December 31, all highways at the entrance to the city will be standing, and you have a chance to skip all the events, staying in the car for the night.
Weather in the UAE for the New Year
The UAE is a country of year-round summer, so worry about weather not worth it. For the new year, the weather is as comfortable as possible here: on average, about 22-27 degrees during the day. It can be 12-17 at night, so it makes sense to wear something over a T-shirt or shirt. The water temperature is about 20 degrees - not so cold and you can even swim. Rain is unlikely - the wettest month in the Emirates is February.
How to be parents with children
Many shopping centers have special premises designed in the style of a Santa Claus house. You can have a lot of fun there: read poetry, sing, take pictures with Santa. The average cost of a visit is from 10 to 20 USD. All children are given gifts - sweets.
What else can you do during the holidays?
If you like to combine business with pleasure, then you have a chance to save a lot even on the celebration of the New Year 2018 in the UAE. This year the world famous Dubai shopping festival kicked off on December 26, 2017 year and will last a whole month - until January 26, 2018. Discounts on many products during this period reach 70%! So there is a chance not only to celebrate the New Year in an interesting and exciting way, but also to make many interesting and profitable purchases during the holidays!
By the way, many expensive prizes are drawn during the festival. Last year there were Lexus, Nissan cars, several kilograms of pure gold, and even a helicopter! Who knows, maybe this year you will get lucky too?
Reviews: How New Year is celebrated in the UAE ()
- How New Year is celebrated in the UAE
- How New Year is celebrated in the UAE
- How New Year is celebrated in the UAE
Leave feedback
Popular materials from the section
Do you think that a burqa is required in the UAE? In fact, no, but for sunbathing topless you can get jailed .. See the section on what you can and cannot see.
Even at the stage of preparation for the trip, I tried for a long time and persistently to find at least some reliable information about how the inhabitants of the United Arab Emirates celebrate the New Year, whether any events are held on a festive night, what leisure options are offered by our tour operators on this wonderful holiday but found nothing!
Miracles, and nothing more ... It would seem that so many people travel to the UAE in winter, and no one bothered to write at least something about this. I even asked the corresponding question on Turistera in the "Questions and Answers" section, but no one gave an answer to it. I had to ask for help from the travel agency through which we organized the tour. But they also could not tell or advise me anything. Even a call to a TezTour representative did not add clarity. Everyone had the same answer - in the UAE, the New Year is not celebrated en masse, except for the fact that festive tables and entertaining animation are organized in hotels. This all discouraged us a little, but since there was no other information, we believed it, but in vain - in fact, everything turned out to be completely wrong!
16
Moreover, I still have a feeling of a certain conspiracy of our tour operators, who deliberately try to deceive Russian-speaking tourists and do everything so that they stay to celebrate the New Year in their hotels, at events which are organized by these offices themselves. I have never seen anything like this anywhere - all representatives of travel agencies, guides, drivers will shamelessly lie to you, thereby trying by any means to drag you to your festive banquet, describing what wonderful performances, delicious food and a wonderful festive atmosphere will be there. They will unanimously argue that there will be nothing interesting in Dubai on the festive night. Maximum - some frail, unremarkable fireworks. Do not believe them at all !!! All who succumbed to these persuasions were then extremely disappointed! We were told a lot of "scary" stories when people paid very decent money and received an inedible buffet, which was enough for a maximum of 40 minutes of celebration, and then people sat all night without food and drinks. I'm not talking about alcohol at all ... they say there is a maximum of six people on the table, which was a couple of bottles of cheap champagne and a bottle of vodka. Friends complained about disgusting animation or its complete absence. In general, never settle for this option, or your vacation will be completely ruined! The only exceptions are such elite hotels as Parus or Atlantis.
23
20
“Then what to do? Where to celebrate? ”You ask. Well, I will try to offer you several options, and also tell you about the difficulties that you may encounter on the way ...
The first, and perhaps the most advantageous option, in my opinion, is to celebrate the New Year in the very center of Dubai near the famous Burj Khalifa skyscraper. Here, on New Year's Eve, the city authorities organize fireworks of fantastic beauty!
But not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance ... If you live near the center of Dubai, then there will be no special problems, but if somewhere in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, or other emirates, then everything is much more complicated. The fact is that since the middle of the day on December 31st, hundreds of thousands of tourists and expats have been trying to get to Dubai. Huge traffic jams are formed in which you can stand for several hours, but still not get to the place you need. It often happens that after leaving at six in the evening, tourists never get to the Burj Khalifa by midnight and they have to celebrate the New Year somewhere on the road, since all highways are tightly packed.
Therefore, if you live in Sharjah, it is better to do so - to go on a morning excursion to Abu Dhabi that day, and on the way back go to Dubai, walk around it, and in the evening go to take seats closer to the place of the future show. But remember, the later you come here, the less comfortable seats you will take. Still, each of the million people gathered there will try to occupy the most advantageous position for viewing. It will be an insane crowd!
There is another way to get to Burj Khalifa - for example, by metro. There will be a lot of people here too, but at least you will be sure that you will get to the city center on time. Another problem will be that if you haven't booked a table in a nearby restaurant in a few months, then the rest of the night you will have nowhere to stick to, and it will be difficult to leave the city. In theory, you can of course take the metro, but the nearest station is usually closed on New Year's Eve and you will have to walk to the one in the financial center of Dubai. But no one knows how long you will stand in line there, because there will be a lot of other people trying to leave the center. Therefore, think in advance, your cultural program after the end of the main event of the evening.
Another option for celebrating the New Year may be to book a table in one of the famous hotels in the United Arab Emirates. True, you will have to pay quite serious money for this pleasure. For example, our friends on New Year's Eve rested at the Atlantis hotel. According to them, it was not bad at all, although they got there with great difficulties. There was no way to get to the hotel by car and they had to walk quite a long time to reach it on their own. The festive show at this hotel includes not only beautiful fireworks, but also performances by various famous artists and DJs. To give you an idea of what is happening there, I found a couple of relevant videos on YouTube:
At the Burj Al Arab (Parus) hotel, they say, you can also celebrate a holiday with pleasure, but according to rumors, the prices there are exorbitant, although who knows, maybe this is not entirely true. Here I can’t say anything definite, because the only thing that I heard was the conversations of several people I did not know on this topic. They, in any case, liked the New Year's show there:
Sometimes, when discussing the New Year, tourists also mention fireworks in Sharjah. But, frankly, according to our friends, he is so wretched that he should not be considered as an alternative to the previously described fireworks at all. These are just a few volleys, which are scarcely visible from anywhere. That's probably all I wanted to tell you. Happy New Year to you !!!
P. S.
All photos and videos used in this part of the story are not my materials, but borrowed from the World Wide Web. I do not indicate links to specific resources, since their original source is unknown to me. Photos were found using Google Images, and videos were from YouTube.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the most amazing countries in the world. Just 50 years ago, the grandfathers of the current citizens of the Emirates roamed the desert on camels and had never heard of not only mobile phones and the Internet, but even the blessings of civilization familiar to Europeans, such as water pipes or public transport (except, perhaps, dromedaries).
Everything changed when bottomless deposits of gas and oil were discovered in that notorious desert. Now the UAE is the richest, most stylish and luxurious state in the world, in which every citizen is provided with everything necessary for a comfortable life from birth.
In December-January, this destination is popular among "top-tier" tourists, since both the rest itself and the entrance ticket to New Year's parties in the Emirates are not cheap. However, the quality of such a vacation is many times superior to a vacation in budgetary countries, where, at first glance, it still shines and shines, only the gilding is already a little worn out, and the service is a little "sagging", and the animators turn out to be compatriots who have come to work. Everything in the UAE is impeccable, and every guest feels like a sheikh.
New Year in Dubai - the most progressive and "Europeanized" emirate
Recall that the UAE is a Muslim country, and they have their own holidays, which have nothing to do with the Gregorian calendar. On the other hand, tourists are a solid source of income for the state, and elementary oriental hospitality and cordiality should not be discounted, therefore both the New Year and both Christmas (Catholic and Orthodox) are celebrated in the Emirates on a grand scale and pomp.
Most tourists are attracted by the traditional fireworks on Palm Jumeirah. The best pyrotechnics in the world make the Burj Khalifa skyscraper envelop in the sparkling of fiery "paths", create amazing flowers and patterns from salute volleys. The 2014 New Year's extravaganza even entered the Guinness Book of Records as the largest and longest-running show of its kind in the history of fireworks.
In addition, in the tourist capital of the UAE on New Year's Eve, themed feasts are held in hotels, pubs, restaurants, everything is decorated with garlands, images of gifts, deer and other symbols of this winter holiday. The richer tourists can take part in beach parties - such events gather the whole “color” of the Arab secular society, and world-famous stars often drop in there.
There are four points to pay attention to:
- Banquet prices start at $ 100 per person - and that's not including food and drinks. The upper ceiling is not limited by anything and can reach tens of thousands of dollars.
- Dubai is a progressive city, but still drinking alcoholic beverages on the street is strictly prohibited there. Most likely, an intoxicating drink will be included in the New Year's menu, but it is better to clarify this issue in advance.
- As well as the end time of the event. Often, a New Year's party ends at exactly midnight. At best, the fun can last up to 3-4 hours, but dancing until the morning is unlikely to work.
- To fully enjoy the fireworks, it is better to book in advance a trump spot in some restaurant with a panoramic view two kilometers from the action itself.
Almost all the same can be found in the emirate, only a little quieter: parties are cheaper, and more modest fireworks - for nothing that the capital of the whole UAE. Other emirates are less popular among European tourists, and therefore do not celebrate the New Year on such a scale.
Get out of town
Lovers of maximum exoticism can meet the coming year on a holiday safari in the heart of the desert in the Bedouin camp. Also on New Year's Eve, local dhow boats, luxury liners and private yachts ply along the Dubai Creek - you can also order an entrance ticket for any of these ships and spend a holiday surrounded by luxury and exquisite dishes.
New Year's shopping
This is what attracts fashionistas from all over the world to the UAE between December 2 and the end of January! The air temperature is 23-28, the warm Persian Gulf is quite suitable for swimming, exoticism and color from all sides - all this pales in comparison with the grandiose shopping festival, which lasts until February 2. During this unprecedented attraction of generosity, discounts can reach 70%, and on New Year's Eve, Santa Claus grottoes operate in all shopping centers, just like in an American movie.
New Year in the United Arab Emirates is a subtle and expensive pleasure, but, as practice shows, there are plenty of connoisseurs of such an unconventional holiday: all tickets for the best parties and places in hotels end a month before the holiday. Therefore, we highly recommend that you do not delay: otherwise, even our expert managers will only be able to sigh sadly and throw up their hands at the request to choose a tour in the UAE.
We offer you a video about the celebration of the New Year in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, created by our team "DubaiINFO" for you
Come and subscribe to our YouTube channel and watch our new videos !!!
ALL PLEASANT VIEWING !!!
New Year in Dubai
“As you celebrate the New Year, so you will spend it,” says popular wisdom. And if you want to live luxuriously, then where else to go to celebrate the New Year, if not to the country of luxury and wealth ?! To turn the next New Year's Eve into an oriental fairy tale, you do not need to look for a real wizard at all, you just need to meet New Year in Dubai... It is celebrated in the UAE twice - a religious Muslim and a secular New Year, the dates of which do not coincide. And now we will talk specifically about the celebration of the second.
If you decide to meet New Year in Dubai, you can be sure - there are options for every taste. And do not worry about the presence of a festive mood due to the heat or lack of snow - luxuriously cleaned streets, shopping centers and hotels will not leave anyone indifferent.
Options for celebrating New Year in Dubai
1. New Year's Eve Dinner in Dubai
One of the most popular options among domestic tourists is a festive dinner, which is offered by absolutely all hotels and restaurants. A chic table, quality service, a Christmas tree and an entertainment program will not let you get bored. But there are a few things to keep in mind here:
- Such a dinner is much more expensive than usual.
- The entertainment program in different hotels may differ depending on the policy of the hotel itself, therefore, you need to clarify the concept of the evening in advance, as well as at what time the program begins and ends, as there is a chance that the "dancing till you drop", which you expected, will end with the chimes. Many hotels today offer options for celebrating the New Year "our way" with the broadcast of the president's speech, Santa Claus and Snegurochka.
- Drinking alcohol on New Year's Eve is possible exclusively on the territory of the hotel, and after drinking, you should not leave the hotel and continue the holiday on the streets of the city.
2. New Year parties in Dubai
Young people often choose to celebrate the New Year in bars and nightclubs, as well as traditional Dubai beach parties, played by the world's most popular DJs. This is where you will definitely be able to dance until the morning.
3. New Year's cruises in Dubai
An alternative to standard restaurants will be New Year's cruises on the bay - it can be a traditional Arab dhow boat, or it can be a large motor ship. And if you are relaxing with a large and noisy company, then you will like the option of renting a yacht. In any case, it all depends solely on your preferences and the size of your wallet.
4. New Year's fireworks in Dubai
Another option for New Year's Eve in Dubai is to watch the festive fireworks at the city's famous landmarks. And it is worth seeing them, because thanks to the New Year's fireworks, Dubai has already entered the Guinness Book of Records twice - in 2009 and 2014, and it would be a shame to miss another occasion, which we have no doubt about. You can watch the fireworks from the hotel, if its location allows, or you can go directly to the place of the event. It is also important to remember the following here:
- This option is more economical.
- It is worth considering the issue of transport in advance, as there is a chance to get into a long traffic jam. It is better to use the metro, but even here you will have long lines, and stations close to attractions are closed, so you need comfortable shoes to be able to walk.
- It is worth considering in advance the places from where the fireworks are better seen, perhaps even book a restaurant with the appropriate view, if you are not afraid of the cost of such a dinner. And not always the best places to watch are in the immediate vicinity of the fireworks launch point.
- Drinking alcohol on the streets is also prohibited.
- It is worth bringing with you a light jacket or sweater, as at night in December the air temperature can drop to 15 ˚С.
The most ambitious fireworks and laser shows are usually held near the tallest building Burj Khalifa, near the luxurious Burj Al Arab and Atlantis hotels. and throughout the Palm Jumeirah.
5. New Year safari in Dubai
If you came to the UAE for exotic, then your option is the New Year's safari in the desert. It can be a camel, jeep or quad bike safari, followed by a Bedouin village with a festive dinner and belly dancing. It is here that the tales of "1000 and 1 nights" come to life. This option costs from $ 100 per person, and the impressions will definitely stay with you forever.
6. Family vacation for the New Year holidays
If you are relaxing with the whole family, then you should definitely visit the residences of Santa Claus with children, which are organized by all major shopping and entertainment centers, and if you still want snow, feel free to go to Ski Dubai in Mall of the Emirates "(" Mall of the Emirates ").
Discounts during the festive period in Dubai
And about wonderful bonuses - New Year's Eve will end, and pleasant surprises in Dubai continue, because this metropolis becomes the heart of shopping every year from January 02 to February 02. During this period, the already traditional shopping festival "The Dubai Shopping Festival" is taking place in Dubai, which is accompanied by unrealistic discounts and sales in all shopping centers of the city. Everyone dreams of getting here, because what could be better than buying something that you have long dreamed of with a discount from -70% to -90%, and even during the New Year holidays !!!
And a little tip in the end - if you want to meet New Year in Dubai, immediately discard all doubts and start organizing your trip. The earlier you start the preparation process, the easier it will be to do everything, as New Year's tours, air tickets, hotel rooms and tables in Dubai restaurants are dispersed at an unrealistic speed. Do you want everything to turn out exactly as you dreamed ?!
Eastern traditions, oriental art, oriental practices are gaining more and more popularity in our country, in our city, and in the western world as a whole. And Eastern holidays are no exception.
But, only getting carried away by all this, we sometimes forget that, as the unforgettable comrade Sukhov said, the east is a delicate matter. And you should not generalize all the cultural traditions of the East into one whole.
For example, we mistakenly believe that the entire eastern world - from the Middle East to the countries of the rising sun - celebrates the Eastern New Year on February 19. But this is far from the case.
Nizhny Novgorod artists helped us to understand all the intricacies of the East, who, with their work, open up a wonderful and amazing oriental culture to the people of Nizhny Novgorod.
Eastern New Year in Nizhny Novgorod is the Chinese New Year
The Eastern New Year, which is celebrated on February 19, is the new year according to the Chinese lunar calendar, which means that this is only a Chinese, Buddhist tradition, which, for example, has nothing to do with the Arab East.
Chinese New Year is one of the main holidays of the year, which the Chinese celebrate for 15 days. In this they are somewhat similar to us, because we also celebrate the new year "from the first to the thirteenth"!
We also inherited the tradition of assigning a symbol to each year from the Chinese New Year. Dragon, Tiger, or, as this year, Goat or Sheep are, according to Chinese beliefs, the masters of the next year. They cannot be found in an uncleaned house, and therefore one of the main Chinese New Year traditions is cleaning.
New Year's color for the Chinese is red. And the entire festive decor of Chinese houses is made in shades of red with small splashes of yellow tangerines, which symbolize prosperity, and peach and apricot flowers, which symbolize new beginnings.
Well, a rich New Year's table is also an obligatory part of the Chinese New Year program.
In general, we and the Chinese have a lot in common in our approach to celebrating the new year!
But the East is not only China, and the Eastern New Year is celebrated not only on February 19, and sometimes not at all like we have with the Chinese ...
Eastern New Year in Nizhny Novgorod: as celebrated in other countries of the eastern world
Arab countries
Katerina Sitnova, head of the Izumrud show-ballet, reports:
"The Eastern New Year is in many ways really a Chinese tradition. And I do oriental dances and these are Arab dances. And the Arabs celebrate the New Year in a completely different way from the Chinese and not then.
The Islamic New Year is celebrated on the first day of the month of Muharram. In 2015 it will be October 14th. But in the Arab world, the new year is not a widespread holiday.
There are two main holidays - Kurban Bayram and the day after Ramadan - both of which are religious and very widely celebrated. And for the new year itself, they only prepare the table and read the prayer not as usual. "
Margarita Dar'ina, head of the "MarMar" school of Arabic dance, continues:
"Yes, the Arab New Year is more of a religious holiday. Therefore, in Arab countries all entertainment establishments are closed for this time. And the biggest entertainment these days is zakat, that is, every self-respecting Muslim is simply obliged to give alms and perform other pious actions.
New Year in the Arab world is a day off, a day for the whole family, when they eat a lot and do not work. And all New Year traditions are associated with Islam and family. "
Tatyana Lyulina, artistic director of the "Angels of the East" oriental dance studio:
"As for the celebration of the Eastern Arab New Year or the New Year according to the Islamic calendar in our city, it is, of course, celebrated by our Muslim diaspora, but still rather closed, within the framework of a religious holiday.
As for me personally, I do not celebrate the Eastern New Year. There were, of course, attempts, but without any memorable details.
I think this is too exotic for our Central Russian area! "
India
Veronika Kurashina, head of the Kamala Indian dance studio:
“In India there are many different peoples and religions. And each cultural tradition has its own calendar. Therefore, in India, the New Year can be celebrated almost all year round!
So, February 19 will be the new year according to the Buddhist calendar. More precisely, even in Tibetan. By the way, some of the states where this calendar is common also celebrate January 1 as the beginning of the year.
New Year according to the Zoroastrian calendar will be celebrated on August 18. The famous Indian holiday Holi (Festival of Colors) is also sometimes considered the New Year, because with him spring begins March-April.
The festival of Lights - Diwali (October-November) is also considered New Year's. This is the start of a new fiscal year for businessmen in western India, with old ledgers closing and new ones starting up.
Finally, in India, they also celebrate Catholic Christmas, which in terms of attributes is perceived in our country as a New Year's holiday ...
Of course, I would like the holidays of different cultures to be more common in our city. This broadens the horizons, draws attention to national traditions and helps their preservation and development, unites people, promotes mutual understanding.
The Eastern New Year could be one of those unifying moments! "
