Eid comes twice a year for us Muslims and to keep it simple they are both celebrations, hence the greeting “happy Eid” or “Eid Mubarak” which translates to “have a blessed Eid”.
The first Eid comes after the month of Ramadan which is the ninth month on the Islamic calendar and it is a period in time where we are encouraged to fast (no eating, drinking, smoking, basically no ingesting anything) for a whole month as well as to give charity where we can. The fasting is a practiced method of cleansing our souls/bodies and giving us a period of time to reflect, repent and to forgive. Abstaining from eating (generally from sun up to sundown), almost all other activities that is a privilege instead of a need (such as music and tv), allows us to empathise with those who are not as lucky as we are and thus, it encourages us (for a little while at least) to be grateful for what we have and not be bitter over what we lack. The purpose is to teach us patience and humility and to exercise restraint in order to achieve a closer relationship with Allah (God). Following the month of Ramadan, we have Eid al-Fitr which is also known as the “Feast of the Breaking of The Fast” is a period of celebration where we gather together to pray in the morning then visit family and friends for the next few days sharing our joy and handing out gifts to one another.
Eid al-adha (which most people celebrated today) is the second Eid and it generally occurs 70 days after Eid a-Fitr. Eid al-adha is a festival to honour Prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham) willingness to sacrifice his own son as a proof of his loyalty to god (his son was not actually sacrificed). It has now become a practiced tradition to sacrifice an animal (usually a lamb, but cows and other animals are also sometimes sacrificed) to honour him. The meat is then dispersed amongst family and friends and those in need. It is also a celebration of the ending of pilgrimage/Hajj.
Eid al-adha is celebrated in much the same way as Eid al-Fitr is, i.e. with a feast and visits.
To give you all a run down on what our families do at Eid, Ayshe and I (Rama) will give a short but sweet little recount of our day. My day (like everyone else's day probably) started early, usually we go mosque for Eid prayers, but today we didn't. Instead in the morning, about 7am, we woke up, got dressed in our Eid clothes and, as we did for Eid al-Fitr, made our way to my uncles house for breakfast. My immediate family gather there every year for breakfast and usually a little while after to just spend time with one another. There were loads of sweets, a jumping castle for the kids (but basically everyone gets involved, who knew kids could be so violent?) and eideye (money which our family members give us for Eid). Following that, we visit our extended family, whom we don’t really get to see all that often, or have loads of visitors at our house. It's all about family, spending time with them, being with them and having fun. It’s very tiring, but it’s a day filled with smiles and laughter and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
For me (Ayshe) usually the only ones who go to an actual mosque are my dad and brother while my mother and the rest of us all head towards the park where everyone gathers together to pray. Then, because my mother and father are the eldest ones of her family in Australia, my entire family tends to head over to our house for breakfast at around 7:30 in the morning. We had loooooads of food and sweets and money was given from everyone to everyone. We also ended up calling my grandma and chatting to everyone overseas and letting them know that they’re on our minds and that we wish them a happy Eid as well. Then for the rest of the day we went around visiting extended family and friends and having people come over to visit us. It was a loooong and tiring day, but it was well worth it and I absolutely cannot wait for next year!
Eid Mubarak everybody,
love from Ayshe&Rama x
No comments:
Post a Comment