My first “real” Jordanian Eid in half a decade is tomorrow. I finally get to simply walk to the mosque to pray instead of taking a one hour bus trip. But how to celebrate it? How does one fill that big gap that comes right after the Eid prayer? Go out with friends? Stay home all day and welcome guests? Overdose on ma3moul? Take a trip? Dead Sea? Aqaba? Syria? Lebanon? Rent a lot of movies? Rock climbing? What do you do for Eid?
Seems everyone I know is leaving the country for the holidays. But since I just got here there’s really no place for me to go except for a probable obligatory trip down south to Kerak. But I’m sure there’s still plenty to do in the absence of travel plans, right?
Eid tends to come with obligations. Social obligations. Family obligations. People obligations. For members of my anti-social generation, the wanna-be-independent generation, this day can be a shock to the system. Visiting guests, serving them sweets, making polite conversation, all this feels like a drag to our restless souls that want their space. To make matters worse, some if not many of these guests are faces you have no particular desire to see. However the guilty part of me reminds the rest of me that this is Eid and these obligations are part of the spirituality of this particular day and this particular religion.
On the other hand: part of me would love to do something constructive in the name of Eid, Islam and our society. City life has eroded much of the great value this day once carried; we’re all strangers nowadays. All the more reason for me to start myself a new tradition. I dunno: run a small charity to buy presents, food and clothes for orphans on this particular occasion, simply so I could have an excuse to get out of the house to a place where I can see faces light up and have it mean something. No obligation. No chit chat. No polite conversation. No remembering how to serve coffee and be guided around the room towards those faces that must be served first based on an archaic social hierarchy of respect. Just something simple. Something worthwhile. Something Eid. I figure if this is the day of sacrifice and we’re supposed to sacrifice something, it might as well be something worthy. I don’t want to tie up such a spiritual occasion with indoor social rituals. Weighed down by coffee soaked cliches.
Alas, I came to late this year to be able to shift the course of my destiny now. But I do resolve to change the tides by this time next year God willing.
In any case, with the weather as it is let me say quite frankly that the contradiction in me, the depressing winter sloth in me, wants to sleep all day or strictly follow in Abu-Mahjoob’s foot steps…
Eid Mubarak Everyone!!
Eid Mubarak Everyone!!
Sincerely,
Naseem Tarawnah
I’ll arrive Amman tonight at 1:30am, so the first day I’ll be asleep. and the other days i have to be engaged in those “polite conversations” no escape :(.
I had only three Eids outside Jordan, to me i feel it is the gathering of the family and your beloved ones who makes the joy. plus of course the ma3mol and the traditional Arabic coffee.
anyhow, wish you all a happy Eid.
Nas, it’s about time that you discover how to spend your time in Jordan… The only difference in Eid is that you get to visit more relatives. Don’t listen to those who say there’s really nothing you can do except hanging out with your friends in coffee shops… Emjoy your Eid! family, friends, ma3moul, Kerak… and when it’s over, that’s when you can cry for help, not now 😀
MOA: welcome home. happy eid to you too.
Ola: well i’m not much of a coffee shops person…but then again im not much of a relatives person either. i complain either way 😀
nas
if you hit karak let me know, most probably i’ll be on the streets taking pictures there.
Prayers and the day at the Mother in Laws house.
Kul 3am w enta bkhair 🙂
If you ever start this new tradition, please let me in on it! For some really odd reason, it seems like our entire generation is so high on anti-eid sentiments. To me, eid is just another social showing-off parade. I mean I love family gatherings and all, its just that the joy of eid feels forced somehow within the family atmosphere especially if its not exactly religious. What I love though, is the eid prayer early morning. That is when it truly feels like eid, what with people racing to the mosque, when you can’t even park your car on the street because its jam packed to the rim.I don’t know if its okay to say this, but its at that time precisely that I can actually sense God in the air.
Eid Mubarak to Muslims and non-Muslims all over this globe!
Kul 3am wa antum be khair.
Every Eid, a friend of my sister’s buys presents for the less privileged kids living in refugee camps …goes around each house himself and hands them out to each kid! 🙂
Kol saneh winta salim!
p.s. check your email when you get a chance! Thanks
kol 3am w inta b5air… if i were you… i’d enjoy the trip to Karak… it’s long… it’s warm.. and people there are just so sweet… and you don’t know.. maybe while you’re driving its streets you’d spot laith:P
get to see : irfa3 rasak inta bil karak… it’s a karaki’s pride;)
Happy Eid everyone 😀
(laith: i’ll be there on Wednesday apparently)
Hi Nas, Happy Eid! We are laying low, playing games, watching movies. But tomorrow, we’ll have our wonderful landlords down for “Thanksgiving” dinner. A little late, but due to travels on both sides, it’s for New Years.
Nas, I’m going to send you an email asking for help about an article I am writing, if thats ok
Happy Eid Nas, and a very happy new year.
PS social obligations :*oh:
hilarious cartoon!