Saudi National Day

Yesterday was Saudi National Day - their patriotic holiday similar to the 4th of July or Canada Day.  Around 7 or 8 p.m. that evening, we noticed some cars painted green (the color of their flag) and bearing flags or the king's face.  My thought was, "Interesting...I hope the paint comes off."  It was pretty similar to people in the States attaching flags to their cars, so I didn't think much of it.  I thought "This day isn't much different from any other day", as we kept driving to our destination.
It wasn't until much later that night when we were driving home that I was shocked and almost afraid for my safety.  We were trying to merge into traffic when a caravan of cars and motorcycles zoomed past at top speed with teenage boys hanging out the windows waving flags.  Some of the boys were decked out in green body paint, much like you would see at a soccer or football game.  Once we merged into the traffic and it slowed down, I noticed a young boy of about 5 or 6 hanging out the driver's side window of the car next to us.  Thankfully, the father's arm was around the boy, but I was still nervous that the little guy would get hurt.  Almost every car was painted and had people car surfing - some boys were even riding on the windshield.  Somehow, the driver was still able to see where he was going even with the boys' legs blocking most of his view.
There were so many people out celebrating that it took us a couple of hours to get home, and it normally would've only taken us 40 minutes at the most.  At one point, a mob of teenage boys came in front of our car.  Thankfully, we kept driving and they moved to the side.  I think our car was the only car not decked out with green and teenage boys.  We might as well have had a sign on our car that read "foreigners".  The sound of honking horns and yelling boys filled the air as I silently prayed for us to get home safely.  Thankfully, I was surrounded by a group of military friends, so I felt as safe as I possibly could in that situation.  However, that is the last time I will go out at night on Saudi National Day.