Late Eid Ramblings

This Eid we had family over from another province. It's always weird to be reminded that you have parts of your family that you don't see much and even weirder when you do see them and feel estranged. It was hard to stay in the Eid spirit and include them in it when it was obvious that to them, it was just another day. I was paradoxically reminded of Christmas when I saw their lack of excitement. During Christmas you can feel the holiday spirit pouring out from shop windows, flickering in the lights on people's houses during December, and the festivities are generally enjoyed by all people. I wish Eid was more like that here. I am told that in Arab countries people are all off work, public holidays are called, and the whole country partakes in celebrations that extend into the three days of Eid. I don't want Eid to become Christmas and I don't want Christmas to become Eid, but when I looked at the members of my visiting family who don't really understand or appreciate Eid, I was upset because Eid and Muslim culture are seen as reserved for Muslims and the practicing ones at that. I wish Eid was more of a public celebration so that people like my visiting family wouldn't forget what it's like to celebrate it.

It's interesting how public events affect the private life, and I recall Deborah Nelson's article "Plath, history and poltics" that I read in my summer term at UBC. At one point she discusses how the public became the private with the 50s cold war sentiments and I think that with marketing and advertising, the same can be said for holidays. For example, when I wrote about the Christmas spirit I quickly recounted shop windows. When I was younger, you could always tell when Christmas was nearing because of the shows that had holiday specials and the commercials with kids opening up gifts. If Eid (or other religious celebrations) got the same media coverage and hype, then I'm pretty sure a lot of kids wouldn't be staring at you weirdly as you tried to explain to them that no, today is very special because of Ramadan ending and that today is significant religiously and for them as well.

This isn't to say that I ever feel a sense of lacking during Eid time. Growing up, there was always the excitement knowing that your parents have got you presents that are hidden somewhere around the house and that you'll get after Eid salah. As we got older, the excitement for presents turned into a curiosity about the envelope that had your eideyyeh (money given at Eid) in it. Throughout all the excitement of gift giving, our parents never forgot to remind us why it was we were celebrating and how even though we get presents and material things, what was important was the spirit of giving to those less fortunate and thanking Allah SWT for the blessing of having your family all together, safe, and healthy.

Hopefully Eid al-Adha will be more about the spirit of family, community, love, and worship. For now, I'll be grateful if God could speed up the days until we're back to being just 6 people in our house!