Eid Sa'eed

Eid Mubarak to all the Sisters and their families out there and Taqabballah Minna wa minkum!

I love Eid! It has a charm of its own. It's not as hyped up as Christmas...it is more sophisticatedly subtle. Childhood Eids for me were all about that excited feeling I had when I woke up in the morning and saw my new clothes laid out from the night before. There were even new socks and perhaps some new shoes. These were not bought frivolously, but were pretty much the new 'nice' clothes for the year, which would later be worn whenever there was something to dress up for. The smell of sewei (a dessert made of vermicelli) wafting through the house...seeing my parents and feeling a new joy. Although I had seen them the night before, everything and everyone seemed new on Eid! Bathing and getting ready for the Eid prayer...and then that feeling when I arrived at Regents Park Mosque or Finsbury Park for an open air Eid Prayer! The place was buzzing. Black people in colourful African dress, Malaysians and Indians and Pakistanis and Arabs and Muslims from everywhere in between, all gathered feeling the same feeling! I think Eid for me was about people...the Ummah.

I hope my children feel that same feeling. Though they often get something on Eid that I didn't...presents! We received money when we were little. 'Eidi' as it is called by Indo-Pakistanis. It was more of a token, than a serious amount of money, but it was nice. Now...having been brought up under the shadow of the Christmas culture, presents seem like the more natural thing to give...family members want to give gifts to the children, which is fine...but I try hard to make the gifts a 'nice-to-have' not an essential part of Eid. So no opening presents at the beginning of the day. It's just something done at Grandparent's houses after the food and fun is over and it is not hyped up, because I don't want my kids to expect presents and I definitely don't want them to demand presents!!
3 Eid gatherings/parties later...I'm suffering from Eid Fatigue I think! There are so many parties going on Ma Sha Allah!Here's one for a good cause: a Muslim Girls' Secondary School in Hendon that is up and running but needs funding to have more classrooms to cater for more girls and more subjects. If you live near Kingsbury in North West London or can make to the Fundraiser Party...please do come.