While many people commonly visit Jordan during the spring and fall, the month of December is also a wonderful time to experience the kingdom.

As the festive season arrives each year, the Christmas spirit radiates across Jordan with beautiful decorations lighting up neighborhoods and many seasonal markets taking place throughout the month of December in Jordan's capital city of Amman. Additionally, local churches arrange Christmas tree lighting ceremonies and bakeries prepare delicious Christmas treats and baked goods for everyone to enjoy. The weather also remains mostly sunny during the month of December allowing people to plan many outdoor activities.  

Here are some of the top reasons to visit Jordan during the Christmas season.

1. People can enjoy their Christmas day at immensely unique places such as the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea. For example, this year the Dead Sea Marriott Resort and Spa is organizing a fun-filled Christmas buffet with live cooking stations, entertainment, and activities for children. The Movenpick Resort Dead Sea is hosting a Christmas Eve Dinner, a Christmas day lunch, and a daily festive chocolate hour. The Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea is also beautifully decorated with Christmas decor that creates a wonderful festive atmosphere.   

(Kempinski Hotel Dead Sea, Photo credit: Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea)

2. The month of December in Jordan is filled with Christmas markets that sell traditional products, local foods, and handmade items created by Jordanian designers.

(Christmas market at the Grand Hyatt Amman, Photo Credit: Al Mahabba Committee)

3. The weather in Jordan is mostly sunny in December with many days having clear blue skies and temperatures remain around 60°F.

4. Tourist destinations across the kingdom such as the ancient stone-carved city of Petra are less crowded during the winter season, allowing visitors to quietly enjoy these places.

5. Visitors can experience a Christmas mass at historic churches such as the early Byzantine Saint George Church in the city of Madaba, which hosts the magnificent and oldest surviving mosaic map of the Holy Land that was discovered in 1884.