The traditional midnight service in Dubai started with a 45-minute carol singing session
KT photos by Shihab
Residents in the UAE flocked to churches to attend the Christmas Eve mass on Saturday.
Both St. Mary's Catholic Church and St Francis of Assisi Church in Jebel Ali, Dubai had a large number of people in attendance for the traditional midnight mass.
The service at St Mary's Church began with carol singing at 11.15pm followed by the solemn high mass at midnight, and at St Francis of Assisi Church carol singing began at 10.30pm while the midnight service commenced at 11pm.
As always, parishioners dressed up in their best for the occasion. Christmas lights, tree, crib and stars have been put up all around the church premises to spread the joyful atmosphere of the season.
On Christmas Day, masses will be held throughout the day in a number of languages, including Arabic, Tagalog, French and Urdu, to cater to the various communities in the Emirates.
Other churches in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah will also be conducting special masses on December 24 and Christmas Day.
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