eid mubarak

The Islamic month of Ramadan has come to an end. We had a wonderful month of fasting, praying, and giving thanks. After Ramadan, Muslims celebrate Eid ul Fitr, which means Festival of the Fast-Breaking. This is the biggest holiday in the Islamic faith and lasts for three days. You can read more interesting facts about this holiday in my post about Eid ul Fitr here.

I thought I'd share a little briefing of how we celebrated.

~ Hubby, little guy, and I all bought new outfits to wear for the occasion.

~ Little guy participated in a middle eastern tradition where the children dress up in traditional clothing and walk around the neighborhood. They will stop at houses that display a balloon on the door. These houses will pass out things like candy, money, or goodie bags.

~ We gave charity.

~ We woke up very early, dressed in our new clothes, and went to visit a lot of family members. We usually go to two houses (one for FIL's side of the family, and one for MIL's side of the family). We drink Arabic coffee with dates and chocolates. A meal is served which always includes lamb and rice. Then some tea with dessert. Why lamb and rice in the morning? I asked the same thing. Back in the day people did not have the money to eat meat everyday. Lamb was reserved for holidays only. So waking up early and preparing the meal was a very special and exciting time. This "morning meal" practice continues in present day.

Over the next three days there will be visiting, festivities around the city, and celebrations. We are planning a trip to the toy store for little guy. We like to buy him gifts for Eid. This year we planned to buy him a new bike. However, we ran into a problem with the one we selected. So we will take a trip to the toy store and let little guy pick out some things.

After a night of only a few short hours of sleep and a long day, I am more than ready for some deep sleeping. Good night and Happy Eid! :)