SPbU hosted a meeting on the traditions of Christmas and New Year celebrations in Arab countries

In early December, the third meeting of the Arab Conversation Club was held at SPbU. The thematic meeting of the Arab Conversation Club was devoted to the traditions of Christmas and New Year celebrations in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.

The guests were Karin Kneissl, head of the G.O.R.K.I. Centre at SPbU, Michel Naama, an expert on Arab cinema, PhD in art history, Bashshar Asfar, an independent researcher, PhD in technical sciences, Yasser Akel, a lecturer at SPbU, and Vladimir Polikanov, a military interpreter and writer.

The guests from the Arab countries told about the traditions of Christmas celebration by Christian communities in the Middle East: house decoration, preparation of festive tables, the Arab Father Christmas — Noel Baba, exchange of greetings with neighbours of other denominations and other things. In turn, Karin Kneissl shared her experience of learning Arabic and using it in her professional activities.