In Pakistan, 25 December carries two occasions. It is Christmas, and it is also the birth anniversary of Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. That is why the whole country takes the holiday, not only the Christian community. Christmas here is widely called Bara Din, the big day, and the phrase is used by Muslims as well.
The second thing about the date matters more for a household. Schools and colleges close around 23 or 24 December and stay shut until the second or third of January. Children are home for roughly ten days, and so are the relatives who travel during that window.
Homes get dressed for it. Houses and whole streets in Christian neighbourhoods are lit up, and preparations start in the markets from the beginning of December. In Lahore the procession from St Anthony’s to the Cathedral takes hours to complete.
For bedding, the ten day break is the part to plan around. Rooms carry more people than usual, laundry piles up faster with everyone at home, and December air in Punjab dries a washed set slowly. Two sets per bed is the difference between managing and struggling.