With the police stopping youngsters changing the color of their cars, there were far fewer green-painted vehicles on the road for this year's Saudi National Day celebrations, but the mood was still full of joy.

The police are required by law to prevent people from permanently changing the color of their cars without proper authorization. However, this did not put a damper on the festivities with youngsters simply covering their vehicles with large green flags, giant posters of the Saudi leadership, or green water paint.

Car shops in Bawadi industrial area reported a significant drop in sales of green paint. “I used to sell 40 to 50 bottles of green spray paint in the past but this year I was hardly able to sell four or five bottles,” a Yemeni salesman, who did not want to be named, told Arab News.

Meanwhile, there was a real holiday atmosphere in the city even for expatriates, with many private sector companies closed for the day. However, the big malls were still open for business.

Thousands of Saudi employees working for private firms celebrated national day on Monday by distributing cakes and sweets to expatriate workers.

“It was a pleasure to share the joy of our national day with expatriate colleagues,” said Saleh Al-Sulaimi, a Saudi working for a private firm. “I don’t like to spend time on the corniche but I am taking some expatriate workers along with me for an outing on national day.”

All government offices remained closed, but hospitals and emergency services employees celebrated the day at work. Workers at King Abdulaziz and King Fahad hospitals in Jeddah spent time with patients, including Filipino nurses and Bangladeshi cleaning and maintenance staff.

In Makkah, workers at King Faisal and other hospitals also celebrated the day, with doctors giving gifts to patients. Rauf Al-Khatab, director of the hospital, visited the sick patients and gave them presents.