Winter holidays in Doha

IT  was  so quiet  in Doha last week .It seems that many people left  for winter holidays .  There  was not much  festive atmosphere here expect for the five star hotels .So many people  rather left  the country  to celebrate in the Emirates or at their home .
Ten years ago when we arrived to Doha we were pleasantly surprised at the sight of the Xmas trees in the malls .Then some three years ago those  artificial  trees   disappeared .It had disturbed the native population .They see in the tree  the symbol of Christianity  .When it has nothing to do with the Christians . It is a winter decoration in Europe /North America  ...to cheer  people up during the dark winter days .
On the other hand this is the first time that my husband got a day-off  for New Year  and   my child  going to an Arabic school got  a day-off  as well  for the  first time ...
Ten years ago when we arrived we  liked   winter  holidays here .It was not so  bad to spend the days outside at the family park /women's park in Muntazah .. since the those parks have been closed for unknown reasons .We liked the   festive selection of products at the supermarkets .Then a day while walking along the Corniche we saw a jazz band playing and singing by the sea  . There was a  winter festival that year in the city .