Yesterday Muslims in many South Asian countries celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr [1] marking the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. Many bloggers exchanged greetings and shared their rituals and traditions.
Pakistan:
Momina at Chowrangi explains [2] different aspects of the Eid celebrations:
Eid is derived from the root word of `Aada meaning returned. We all know that we return to Eid periodically. It is also said to have been derived from ‘Aadah meaning a custom or a practice. The reason is that people customarily celebrate it.
Kalsoom at CHUP! Changing Up Pakistan remembers [3] what Eid meant for her and her family while growing up.
Growing up, my favorite part of Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr always centered around two things – my family and food. On Chand Raat, the night before Eid, I loved going to the market to buy bangles or get henna painted on my hands. My memories of Eid as a child were flooded with color, bright new clothes, laughter, and the taste of sivaiyyan [vermicelli noodles in sweetened milk] first thing in the morning.
As an adult, Ramadan has become increasingly a time to think about others around me, particularly the poor. Working in the development realm has helped put such issues into further context.
[4]A boy looks behind while others are doing rituals at the end of Ramadan month, on Eid Namaaz (prayers) at Bangalore, India. Image by Sandip Devnath
India:
Sudhir Kekre remembers [7] the Eid food delicacies:
When I moved to Hyderabad, Ramzan and Eid became a big part of our social calendar. A new world of mouth watering delicacies were introduced. Haleem and nihari along with the biryanis and mirchi bhajjis became synonymous with Hyderabad.
The blogger also comments on the relationship between Hindu & Muslims:
Perhaps festivals could be a good way of reducing the animosity between two communities.
The Sacromento Bee blog posts [8] pictures of Eid celebrations across India.
Bangladesh:
“Eid is supposed to be a special day. But today was strange,” writes [9] ulysses at Back To Bangladesh. The blogger goes on to describe the experience of surviving an earthquake in Dhaka on the Eid day. However there is a more worrying threat than earthquake for the Bangladeshis:
There are scary statistics about how many people would die from a severe earthquake in Dhaka. But, truth be told, I worry more about adulterated food than any other issue facing Bd.
Maldives:
Kaidha tells [10] poetically how the Eid festivities have reduced to a holiday with no significance:
I remember a time when i was a kid, we would look forward to eid as being more than holiday
It's the day a big feast would be cooked and be visited by relatives
It's the day we would wear our new dresses and go to watch the marches
It's the day we would watch the fireworks of every colour blind the night sky
However with time, Eid has become just another day we could just laze around at home and watch tv or facebook all day
Eid Mubarak to all our readers.