Cairo celebrates Christmas with Santa Claus, twinkling lights and reindeer antlers

The festive season provides a boost for the Egyptian capital's shops, cafes and street vendors, as residents join in the seasonal fun

Cairo’s districts are adorned with bells, Santa Clauses and Christmas trees to welcome the festive holiday season.

Celebrated by the country's Christians and a growing number of Muslims, the Christmas season is one of the Egypt’s biggest festivals – with millions of the capital's residents joining in.

But over the last decade or so, more Egyptians have started joining in celebrations, Mahmoud said.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with religion anymore, Christmas is a celebration for all humanity now,” said Mahmoud, 29, a shop assistant at a decorations store in the upper-class Cairo neighbourhood of Zamalek.

“It’s one of our busiest times each year,” he said.

Bookstores, clothing stores and malls all over the capital put out their most elaborate Christmas displays – complete with reindeer, mistletoe, Christmas bells and jolly-looking Santa Clauses.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian capital’s restaurants, bakeries and cafes began serving their holiday treats, which included cinnamon-flavoured drinks and cakes adorned with Christmas decorations made from icing.

Through their doors, the sounds of Christmas carols can be heard as they drift out into the streets and disappeared into Cairo’s cacophony of car horns that never seems to cease.

Christmas used to be mostly celebrated by the country’s upper classes, as they had greater exposure to western culture.

But over the last decade or so, more ordinary Egyptians have started joining in celebrations, Mahmoud said.

He attributes this to an increase in Christmas celebrations depicted in locally-produced films and television shows – and posts and advertising campaigns shared on social media.

“Today with the internet and social media, many Egyptians are becoming a part of worldwide Christmas celebrations which they see posted by the celebrities they follow,” he said.

For Cairo's street vendors, Christmas provides an opportunity to make some extra money from selling decorations.

Amid Cairo’s traffic jams, worsened by the winter weather, dozens of street vendors could be seen making their way through the lines of stationary cars, trying to tempt drivers with Santa hats with flashing lights, reindeer antlers, and other festive favourites.

“Where our business is concerned, Christmas is just a season like any other and we usually stock up on Christmas items in late November to sell on the streets in December,” said Anwar Mohamed, 28, a part-time street vendor.

“But in my mind it’s no different from Eid Al Adha when we sell stuffed sheep toys to kids or in Ramadan when we sell traditional lanterns.

“It’s just business,” he said.

In some of Cairo’s more central squares, particularly in affluent neighbourhoods that witness a large amount of commercial footfall, Christmas trees have been brought out for the occasion.

In Korba, a neighbourhood in the upper-class district of Heliopolis, passers-by stopped to take selfies with a large Christmas tree put up earlier this month among the area’s dozens of stores.

Though Korba boasts one of the Egyptian capital’s most impressive displays of Christmas decorations, other affluent areas – such as like Sheikh Zayed and New Cairo – are also shining bright for December.