MANILA: Coming from the Catholic-majority Philippines, where annual Christmas celebrations begin as early as September, Genevie Epana often finds herself reminiscing about the festivities back home during the holiday season.
Since she started working in Qatar in 2015, homesickness always hits a little harder this time of the year.
“Because Qatar is mainly a Muslim country … Christmas is not a public holiday. And you won’t see a lot of Christmas decorations outside or on the streets,” she told Arab News.
“But we Filipinos, we find ways, right? We find ways to celebrate Christmas away from home.”
The 32-year-old sticks to Philippine traditions even far from home, such as setting up a Christmas tree and lights in September, when Filipinos embark on their four-month-long preparations to commemorate the birth of Jesus.
