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dailykhaleej · 4 years

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Coronavirus: How UAE residents plan to spend their alternative Eid

For illustrative functions solely. Picture Credit score: Company

Dubai: Regardless of the absence of huge gatherings and no exhange of the standard Eidya (cash) to younger ones, coronavirus restrictions have failed to dampen the true spirit of Eid. Right here we converse to residents who element how their holidays can be completely different however not fully ruined by the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘I by no means thought ever we’d have such a quiet Eid’

Nail Al Shorafa, 51, an Emirati in actual property from Dubai has his fast household with him this Eid.

“There are a total of seven members in my household that includes my wife, four children and the housemaid,” he stated. “Every Eid we usually have a large family lunch at my parents place where my brother, three sister and their families would also gather for a beautiful family time. Sadly, I will not be able visit my mother, who aged 75, and father, aged 80, because I don’t want to put them at risk of exposure. We will all convey our Eid wishes over video call. I will also connect with my siblings after morning prayers to do a virtual hug and exchange of greetings,” he added.

Nail Al Shorafa (centre) along with his sons Ahmed, Mohammad and Faisal Picture Credit score: Provided

Al Shorafa nonetheless plans to sanitise financial institution notes, seal them in envelopes and hand it to the children in his household to be opened at a later date.

The spotlight of Eid within the Al Shorafa family is lunch.

“We have planned a late Eid lunch where my wife will lay out a banquet of traditional Emirati cuisine and desserts,” stated al Shorafa.

“We will convey our love to each other and be imbued with the festive feeling despite the restrictions, we will make the effort to make this incredible Eid, extraordinary,” he added.

‘We will usher in Eid with traditional cuisine from Muslim communities in North China’

Whereas preserving Eid festivities low key, Dr Yousef Shaojhin Chai and his spouse Yu Chin Wang plan to create a modest, but conventional Chinese language Eid lunch for their household of 4.

“We will tune into the televised mosque prayers and offer ours from home,” stated Dr Chai. “This yr as an alternative of giving Eidiya to my daughters Riah, 12 and Zoey, eight, we’ve got determined to gather cash from different Chinese language Muslim households. We additionally plan to donate to a charity that may distribute masks and meals in employees lodging on Eid Day.

Chinese language Muslim expats – Dr Yousuf Shaojin Chai along with his spouse Yu Chin Wang and daughters Riah and Zoey Picture Credit score: Provided

“My daughters are drawing special Eid greeting cards for this occasion to go along with the food packets, I have spoken to the Red Crescent, and we are doing this under their guidance,” he added.

Dr Chai hails from North China, the standard stronghold of Chinese language Muslims, whereas his spouse, Wang, hails from South China. They plan to embrace cuisines from each areas in their Eid lunch.

“We are keeping it very simple. Not too many things, but just a few items. The main course will be traditional dish of steamed lamb sprinkled with traditional Chinese herbs that is eaten not with chopsticks but by hand. This is a dish from Mongolia. This will be accompanied by the fried Chinese Khubz. My wife will also make some dumplings and spicy side dishes that belong to Southern China to which she belongs. For dessert we will have the eight-treasure tea which is made of eight ingredients that include special herbs, jujubes – the red Chinese date, and Longan, a litchi-like fruit, icing sugar and so on. In the evening we will video chat with our friends here and in China and convey our Eid greetings,” he added.

‘Had it not been for COVID-19, I might have celebrated Eid in Algeria’

Algerian expatriate Await Hamla and her Egyptian husband Mohammad Masoud had deliberate to fly to Hamla’s village Diskra in Algeria to rejoice Eid together with her household, however with the present pandemic scenario they’ve resigned themselves to the considered ushering in a subdued Eid at residence. “I was planning to celebrate Eid with my two sisters, brothers and parents in Algeria,” stated Hamla. “This year Ramadan has been low key too as we never went out as we usually did and stayed up late. We slept early and had no community iftars or suhoors. Similarly, for Eid, my husband and I will observe the celebrations all by ourselves. We bought new clothes – one formal and one pair of silk pajamas each. That way if we go out we will wear the formal clothes or at home wear new silk pajamas, perhaps for the first time in Eid,” she added.

Awatef Hamla, Algerian expat together with her Egyptian husband Mohammad Masood Picture Credit score: Provided

Hamla plans to prepare dinner conventional Algerian dishes with couscous, meat and greens and also will bake a typical Algerian cake.

“The only consolation is that we get to meet our families virtually through phone calls and video chats,” she added. “I just for a change that we will take a short drive to look at some of the landmarks lit up with Eid lights and later watch a movie perhaps,” she stated.

‘I’m pleased my dad and mom are right here, making this Eid particular’

For Fida Sabik, a instructor at a faculty in Dibba, Fujairah, Eid, regardless of coronavirus restrictions can be particular. The mom of 1 yr previous daughter Eva Zenha, had her dad and mom visiting from Ernakulum, Kerala who have been unable to go away due to the lockdown. Now she and her husband Sabik Sharafuddeen, can be in a position to usher in Eid with family members.

Fida Sabik together with her husband Sabik Sharafuddeen, child Eva Zenha and visiting dad and mom Picture Credit score: Provided

“We started planning early. My husband who travels to office once a week bought me some pretty lights and other decorations that we will set up at home. A day before, I will soak henna powder and my mother and I know how to make intricate henna patterns on our palms,” stated Fida. “After we offer prayers at home we will greet each other and then mother and will get busy preparing a traditional Eid lunch. This year we plan to make the Arabic sweet Kunafa and will make mutton stew, rice and vegetables. If permitted, we plan to go on a short drive to enjoy some beautiful scenery in Fujairah. We will catch up with friends and family over video chats. I am happy to be able to usher in Eid with my family,” she added.

‘Eid could be low key, sentiments and prayers will stay as intense as ever’

Mahmud Mohammad Habib Al Redha feels though the pandemic has curtailed social actions throughout Eid, it has under no circumstances taken away from the non secular significance of the pageant.

Mahmoud Ali at his residence in Dubai Picture Credit score: Clint Egbert, DailyKhaleej

“Eid is a gift from God for having obeyed him, after observing the 30 day fast with due diligence and full piety,” he stated. “My full family will not be able to celebrate the festival together, but I am glad that my wife and I get to usher in Eid with one of my sons, Ali and his family live with us. I will be able to celebrate Eid with Ali, his wife and grandchildren while virtually meeting my other son Mohammad and his family who live in another residence. But that will not make any difference to our Takhbirs and supplications during Eid prayer,” stated Al Redha.

The Al Redha household has made preparations to give out the ‘Zakat ul Fitr’ donation to the needy. “This is determined by the number of people in the household. We choose one essential item such as flour, dates or any typical food item. The price of one kilogram of that item, multiplied by the number of people in the house helps us fix the money in the Zakat ul Fitr. On Eid day, this fund will be used to buy foods and medicine and Eid gifts for the poor and needy. The Eidya to my grandchildren will be transferred virtually through bank accounts,” added Al Redha, who intends to mark low key celebrations with particular donations for the neighborhood.

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jimenez12world-blog · 7 years

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Ramadhan and Eid?

As the month of Ramadhan comes to a close - or so I'm told- preparations are underway for the great big celebration that is Eid il Fitr (the three day long shindig celebrating the end of the fast). Great time to be at home.. you get to see all sorts of family and friends, wear brand new clothes and have balalee6 oo baidh (sweet noodles and omelettes) for breakfast and goozi (a feast for the senses.. 'nuff said) for lunch on the first day. Yummy. So how's my Ramadhan been? Don't ask. I haven't been back in Bahrain for Ramadhan or Eid for the last five years. I forgot the taste of that month's special food (thireed, harees and the rest of the gang).. I forgot what it felt like to have a big family gathering on the first day of Eid, such a joyful day, a day where I used to recieve money from the elders for the occasion. A dinar here and a dinar there and at the close of business, at around 7pm, a counting session to see who got the most money. My first year in university my mom assured me that she had saved my Eid money in the bank for me.. over the last four years the amount has shrunken considerably (God, isn't he old enough to start making his own money by now? Why do we still keep giving him Eidiya?) with only my parents, Allah ya7fidhum, still making sure I get my Eid money in my account for when I come back on vacations. As children we used to get Eid gifts in a very special way. I remember getting my GameBoy on the first day of Eid. This kerrr-aazy new gizmo that I can carry around with me to play games with.. my parents would put the gift next to my bed after I went to sleep so that I'd wake up in the morning and find it on the bedside table. Naturally, I'd wake up at around 5am to play with whatever I had gotten that year.. nothing works better as an alarm clock than a burning sense of anticipation in an 11 year old boy. I miss all of that. Ramadhan is so damn desolate when you've got no atmosphere around you. It takes some serious determination and strength of faith to be able to fast by yourself, eat by yourself, and continue with the same timetable of normal days without food or drink. And then if you actually manage to fast the whole month, what do you get? Eid! Guess what I'll be doing this Eid? Well, it could potentially fall on a Wedensday or Thursday so I'm going to go absolutely nuts.. I'm going to go to my tutorials and various educational activities at the hospital, and then I'm gonna come back home, do some reading, eat my dinner and go to sleep so I can wake up and do it all over again on - you guessed it - the SECOND day of Eid! Last year's Eid I think I took the day off from the hospital and went to watch a movie with a friend.. I don't think I can afford to do so this year, my consultant certainly wouldn't appreciate it if I did. I went down to see my brother in England a week ago and I managed to fast two or three days. It was nice, there's a good Bahraini group of kids there and they cook if6ar and are living in (a slightly excessive) Ramadhan mode: they stay awake until 3 or 4 in the morning watching Arabic tv shows on satellite, then wake up at 3pm the next day. Having that whole atmosphere made it easier, even though I was waking up at 10 I could still get through the day with the promise of a nice, home cooked meal. What do I get if I decide to fast in Dublin? A headache lasting from 7am to 5pm and a rushed pizza in the oven, that's what. I know, I know.. I'm just being weak. It can be done, and Muslims all over the world do it in foreign countries. The feeling of Ramadhan has always been the clincher for me, and when I don't get that its very hard to live the month. Maybe its my fault for not surrounding myself with Arabic or Muslim friends. The past 26 days have just been the 4th to the 30th of October for me, in truth. All those feelings of guilt I used to get for not fasting are becoming easier to sweep away each year. Maybe someday I'll get it all back, and I know its going to feel fantastic. And on that note I'm going to end this disjointed, disillusioned rant. Hope you had a great Ramadhan, 9iyamin maqbool if you've fasted, and Eidkum Imbarak to all.

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