Tomorrow is Eid, celebrating the end of the Ramadan. Thijs and the girls have three days off. Great! The weather is getting better (i.e. cooler) so we will be spending some days by the pool. Below an article from the Gulf News paper explaining Eid.
Dubai: Astronomy calculation indicates that today may be the last day of Ramadan and tomorrow the first day of Shawwal and Eid Al Fitr. The estimation is mainly based on moon-sighting and Saudi Arabia is the authentic reference for officially announcing the end of the fasting month.
In general, preparation differs from one person to another - sometimes people start to pay attention to the details from the first week of Ramadan in order to avoid the hectic rush right before Eid, while others postpone shopping until the last week of the holy month.
Emirati men and women make sure they buy everything new from head to toe such as new outfits, abayas and shailas. Preparations sometimes include revamping homes and furniture. Islam demands hygiene, good fragrance and paying attention to overall appearance, taking Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) as a perfect example.
Emiratis greet each other by saying "Eid mubarak" meaning "happy Eid."
Eid is synonymous with joy and generosity and it's a three-day celebration. However, the first day is the most crucial, when Muslims from each corner of the globe perform Eid prayer at what Muslims call "Musala Al Eid". This is a large place where men gather in the early morning. Right after prayers are offered, the men congratulate each other on the occasion and a huge line of them head to salute the Shaikhs in the front row and afterwards return to their families.
Commonly, small families pay several visits to their relatives, starting with the elderly, and the rest of relatives gather there as well to have lunch together. Emiratis spend the second and third days doing activities such as taking their children to public entertainment areas such as water parks, concerts, and movies, while some even go abroad for the holidays.
Children have the lion's share of the celebrations because most of the gifts, trips and the rest of the entertainment are planned around them. Not to mention the "Eidiah" - an amount of money given to children during Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha. Emirati children wake up early in the morning and put on their lovely outfits, then greet their parents and siblings, and of course eat some cookies and later, at around 9am, meet their companions. They walk in groups and tour the neighbourhood to get Eidiah. It's a delightful atmosphere of generosity and caring that joins the whole Emirati community as well as the rest of the neighbouring and other Muslim countries.
For the occasion, Emiratis prepare a variety of traditional sweets such as lugimat and khanforoush and main courses such as khabisa; assidah and muhalla. International cuisines are also present including delicious pastries, cakes and chocolates.
After the three official days of Eid, the Emirati community resumes duties and life goes on as usual.
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