Celebrating Eid part 2

Part of celebrating Eid is waking up early and going to the Masjid (Mosque) for special prayers, this is something that I’ve done since I was a child when I remember wondering why everyone was always crying, only to experience the same feelings now as an adult. The Eid prayer just brings about many powerful emotions after a month of fasting and increased spirituality; a mix of happiness, sadness, accomplishment, regret, and overwhelming gratitude to God for His mercy.

Eid celebrations is a combination of obligation and tradition; we are obligated, for those of us who can afford, to donate a fixed amount of money per family member to members of the community that do not have the means to celebrate, so no one is left out of the joy and happiness of Eid. Our old family traditions are things like making sawine, as we call it in Trinidad, giving money or gifts to the kids that we see on the day, cooking tonnes of food, and so on… but my husband and I also started our own tradition, after the prayer, we go out to breakfast with the kids, because they really enjoy it and also because everyone else in my family are too busy cooking and preparing for the party!

I hope you enjoy the video! (I am only in one of the last photos, the other women in the video are mostly my sisters, and a little of my mom.)

song credit: Irfan Makki