As Christmas shopping begins in Saudi Arabia, is the Kingdom heading towards a change?

Christmas has finally arrived in Saudi Arabia as glittery ornaments are being sold at streets of Riyadh.

This is happening in a country which has long been notorious for enforcing Islamic traditions and prohibiting western practices.

But now, the kingdom is embracing inter-religious exchange.

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So, what's driving this transformation and what do ex-pats living in Saudi have to say about it? This report attempts to answer.

"I didn't ever imagine to see Christmas trees or decorations in Saudi. When I came and saw the Christmas tree which had an affordable price in comparison to its size, I was surprised," a Saudi woman said.

For decades, Christmas sales have largely been underground in Saudi Arabia and ex-pats from across the world had to celebrate the festival behind closed doors.

This is because the Arab kingdom has long considered all western practices as a deviation from Islam. Staunch conservatives have prohibited the public celebration of any foreign festival.

But things look slightly different this year as Christmas items are for sale at gifts across Riyadh.

And people from different nationalities are delighted to see the loosening of social restrictions.

"Before I didn't expect that, but now yes I expect that. When I first came here, it was very difficult to find some, many of my friends used to buy them from outside the country, from Lebanon or Syria, and they even used to bring it by land shipping and not by airplane because it wasn't easy to make it enter the country, Mary, Lebanese expat living in Riyadh, said.

"For now it's is good because now it's open to everybody, we can check, we can decorate, before we didn't used to do that. For now it's good, it's better for us and for everything," a Filipino ex-pat living in Riyadh said.

Saudi Arabia has slowly been pushing for inter-religious exchange and in recent years it has hosted officials from the Vatican as well as Jewish figures.

Even textbooks that were once notorious for denouncing non-Muslims are undergoing revisions.

Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, is striving to steer the conservative kingdom towards an open and moderate Islam.

He is trying to curb the influence of the once-powerful religious police and opening up of Christmas shops is yet another step in the right direction.