Samar Yahya
The word Eid is an Arabic word that means a feast or a celebration. In Islam, there are two major Eids, one of which is Eid-ul-Fitr (Feast of Breaking the Fast) celebrating the end of Ramadan as a matter of thanks and gratitude to Allah. The second Muslim holiday is Eid-ul-Addha (Feast of Sacrifice) which coincides with the Haj and commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s sacrifice of a sheep in place of his son, Prophet Ismail.
Eid-ul-Fitr takes place on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Hijri (lunar) calendar. Muslims all over the world celebrate the two Eids and prepare for the celebration days earlier.
In Egypt, Eid celebrations have a unique style and special desserts. There are Eid vacations for schools, universities, and government and private offices. Some stores and restaurants are also closed during Eid.
Buyin
g new clothes is one of the main features of Eid celebrations. As a child, one of the most important preparations for Eid was buying new clothes. These new clothes were the best we would wear in the whole year. I used to match a pretty dress with new shoes, hair clips, and accessories.
At old times, mothers used to prepare special and different kinds of desserts named Kahk. It is a kind of cookie made at home using flour, butter, sesame seeds, some special spices and filled with nuts or dates, and baked then covered with icing sugar. Also, my mother used to make biscuits with anise seeds; it had an exceptional flavor and gave off a beautiful aroma. As kids, we were very happy to help bake these biscuits.
Another kind of cookies is called petit-four which is made of flour, butter, icing sugar and cocoa and shaped as small cookies, and it is also very delicious.
The most remarkable thing is that all these kinds of desserts and cookies have their special flavor during Eid, and if by any chance a mother decides to make these desserts during the rest of the year, they do not taste remarkable at all.
In older days, when there were not state-of-the-art electrical ovens at home, the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and young girls used to make and mold out the cookies and Kahk at home. But they were sent to the neighborhood bakery to be baked. Young boys from the family used to carry large trays to the bakery and to wait for the cookies to be baked, and then bring them back home. Then, at later times, when sophisticated appliances became available, the cookies were baked in the home.
Sadly, this tradition is dying off, and the cookies are not made or baked in the home. Families are buying ready-made Kahk and biscuits from patisserie shops. It does save time and effort, but I feel it steals away from the joy of pre-Eid celebrations.
On the first day of Eid, everyone is awake very early in the morning. Dressed in new clothes, people go to perform Eid prayers. After they return from the Eid prayers, families gather at the grandparents or the eldest family member’s house to share breakfast and eat all kinds of home-made cookies.
Another tradition is that neighbors and relatives exchange plates of Kahk, biscuits, and petit-four, in the spirit of sharing and congratulating one another on the happy occasion of Eid.
The family gatherings continue till noon and sometimes after lunch. Then smaller families rotate and visit the other side of the grandparents and meet also with their in-laws, and chat until the end of the day.
Teenagers like to go out to cinemas, theaters, and amusement parks or even meet at a café to chat and enjoy their time as a kind of celebration.
During my childhood and teenage years, we were able to go the movies only on the second or third day of Eid. The first day of Eid was always dedicated to my family, to receive relatives and also to visit family members. It was during Eid that even my uncle and aunt who lived in other cities, outside Cairo, would come and visit, and that was our special chance to be able to see them.
Eidiyyah is another delightful part of Eid celebrations. It is a sum of cash given to children by parents and adult relatives. Children could save up the money or spend throughout Eid on their activities, rides, games, and buying treats and toys.
Nowadays, the celebration is different. There is a recent trend to spend the Eid holidays on the coastal resorts on the beautiful Mediterranean or Red Sea beaches. Many people like to spend Eid on the northern coast where many resorts have been built during the last decades.
