As the festive season approaches, one truth remains beautifully constant across the world: the desire to gather, connect, and share joy. Whether in the glow of lanterns, around a camp fire in the bush, or in the bustle of city streets, people everywhere seek the company of loved ones.

For travellers, Jumeirah’s hotels stand at the heart of these traditions, offering a window into the ways the world celebrates togetherness. From London’s festive winter streets, Bali’s ritual-filled evenings, to the Middle East’s season of open-air feasts.

Middle East

Celebrations rooted in warmth and ritual

The Middle East stretches wide - deserts and coasts, glittering skylines and ancient souks - yet across its vastness, winter brings a similar rhythm, as cooler days invite life outdoors once more.

In Dubai, December evenings carry a festive hum as the Madinat Jumeirah Festive Market transforms Fort Island with music, colour and scents. Families wander past wooden stalls stacked with handmade crafts and fragrant food, while abra boats glide through the canals. Al fresco dining becomes almost ceremonial – lavish brunches and long lunches in which mezze, roast lamb, and fresh seafood speak to the region’s generosity and its deep tradition of hospitality.

Further along the coast in Oman, the air is perfumed with frankincense and the evenings unfold with celebration. Courtyards and majlis tents fill with the aroma of shuwa, lamb cooked slowly underground before being unveiled in abundant portions for all to enjoy. Music and dance carry into the night, mingling with the sea breeze over Muscat Bay.

To the north in the Gulf of Bahrain, night markets pulse with energy. Manama’s narrow lanes fill with people wandering between stalls of jewellery and textiles, neighbours pausing to exchange greetings as performers play in the squares. The aroma of freshly grilled seafood mingles with the sweetness of Bahraini halwa, while pearl-inspired crafts remind visitors of the island’s rich maritime heritage. Yet, at the heart of celebration, remains the timeless ritual of the majlis – cardamom coffee poured into small cups, dates offered with care, stories carried forward around the fire, and a spirit of warmth and generosity that defines Bahrain’s festive season.

Bali

A time to pause, reflect, and reconnect

In Bali, the holiday season coincides with the monsoon, when rain nourishes the land and the island feels freshly alive. Celebration here is both outward and inward. Families share meals and music, but the sense of closeness also means pausing to honour the spirit of place. Each day begins with canang sari - palm-leaf offerings of flowers, rice, and incense - set out at temples and doorways, gestures of thanks and harmony.

As the year draws to a close, Denpasar’s festival fills the Heritage Gajah Mada area with parades, dance and street food. On the coast, people gather by the sea, releasing paper lanterns into the sky as a wish for the year ahead.

At Jumeirah Bali, connection reflects the island’s relaxed pace. Days are spent exploring temples and terraced hills, evenings marked by an authentic Megibung - a communal Balinese meal where dishes like sate lilit, minced fish satay on lemongrass, and slow-cooked bebek betutu are shared at the table with the Indian Ocean beyond.

London

Markets, carols and winter charm

In London, the festive season is steeped in the charm of an English winter. Streets glow beneath a canopy of lights, shop windows sparkle with imaginative displays, and the air carries the promise of frost - and, if luck allows, snow. From Jumeirah Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge the city feels at once grand and intimate - with Somerset House and Battersea only a stone’s throw away, drawing visitors and Londoners alike to their glittering ice rinks and bustling markets, the Southbank’s riverside chalets offering hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts, and the great spruce in Trafalgar Square, a gift from Oslo that has lit the city every December since 1947.

Back at the hotel, afternoons are marked by the timeless ritual of tea. Seasonal creations - delicate sandwiches, warm scones with clotted cream, and feather-light pastries - make this quintessentially British tradition a moment of pause and indulgence before the city’s evening celebrations.

As night falls, London comes alive with performance: carols echo beneath the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, pantomimes animate the West End, and choirs raise their voices in candlelit churches across the city. On New Year’s Eve, crowds line the Thames as fireworks bloom above the London Eye and Big Ben strikes midnight.

While each culture expresses this spirit of togetherness in its own way, the essence is universal - celebrating life’s most meaningful moments alongside those who matter most.