The Celebration of Eid El Fiter in Fresno

1. The Celebrationof Eidal-FitrinFresno
By: Wasan Abu-Baker
Eid al-Fitrisa three dayHolidaythat all Muslimscelebrate atthe endof fastingthe monthof Ramadan,
it isa wonderful andfunholidayforeveryone. The Eidisa rewardforall Muslimswhofastduringthe
monthof Ramadanand iscelebratedonthe firstof Shawwal, the tenthmonth of the Islamiclunar
calendar.
The day before Eid,Muslimwomeninsome countriesdecoratetheirhandswithbeautiful Henna,and
manyIslamiccentersholdHennaboothsforlittle girlsandwomenthe nightbefore Eidcalled“Chat
Ratt”. All Muslimsprepare newclothesforEidandmake special cookiescalledMamool. Mamool are
cookiesmade of semolinastuffedwithdatesandnuts,garnishedwithpowderedsugar. SheerKhurmais
a Persiandesertmade of vermicelli,wholemilk,sugaranddates. GulabJamunis a southAsiansweet
fromPakistanandIndiathat is a milkbaseddoughnutsoakedinsyrup.
Eid beginsearlymorningwhenMuslims begintheirday bytraditionallyeatingsomethingsweetbefore
goingto the Eid prayer(congregation) where Muslimsfromall surroundingtownscome together. After
the prayer,all Muslimshugand congratulate eachothersaying“EidMubarak”, that means
Congratulationsand“taqabalaAllahminawaminkum”whichmeansmayGodaccept our fast. Before
the Eid prayer,Muslimsare obligatedtopayZakat –Al –Fitr , a charity that goesto poorerfamiliesinthe
community. Familyandfriendscelebratethe three daysof Eidtogetherandtraditionally theymeet
togetheratthe eldestmembershome to congratulate eachother,exchangegifts, andplanfun
activities. Childrenusuallyreceive giftsof money(EidiaorEidi) fromtheirparents,relatives,neighbors,
and friends.
I was raisedina Muslimcountry,Palestine,where we aschildrenspentourEidinverydifficultsituation
worryingaboutour safetyandnot enjoyingEidasmuchas we could. Duringthis time,Ithinkabout
otherchildreninwarzonessuch as Syria,Palestine,Afghanistan,Iraq,andYemen. Notall childrencan
buynewclothesandtoys duringthistime of celebrationanditissadthat theyare missingoutonwhat
mostchildrenaroundthe worlddoenjoy. Forsome children,theyhave losttheirhomes,family
members, neighbors, school friends,andtheymaybe livingoutsidetheirhomes,inrefugee camps,or
somewhere temporary. Theyliveinfearof notknowinghow longtheywill be allowedtostayinthe
hostcountrieswhere theyare refugeesorif the NGOswill be able tokeepprovidingtothemtheir
everydaynecessities.
Thisyear isthe firstEid that our newSyrian neighborswill be spendinginthe US and itfeelsvery
differentforthem. Theyhave somewhere safe tostayandcelebrate thisholidayandaloving
communityhere welcomingthem. Theyare notlivinginfearof beingharmedor havingnowhere to
stay like theydid before comingtothe US. Theycelebrate Eidthisyearstill hopingthatmaybe someday
theirhomeswill be safe againforthemtoreturnto, thisis unlikelybuthope forbetterthingstocome
and that God hasa planisa bigpart of our faith. We are alwaysconfidentthatwith the passingof every

2. challenge,Godwill make things easierforussomehow. Goingthroughhardshipisaway of gaining
more faithand gettingclosertoGod.
There are certainlywaysthatwe can make these hardshipseasierforour Syrianbrothersand sisters. As
a communitywe can helpthemcelebrate Eidwithall of itsbeautybygettingthem new clothes towear
on the day of Eid,toys forthe children,food, andoutingstoletthemenjoytheirtime onthisspecial
occasion. This will help,butof course itwill notreplace the lossthattheyfeel frombeingawayfrom
theirhome andaway fromtheirextendedfamilies. These childrenhave losttheirchildhood,butwe can
helptogive part of itback.