Salaam everyone! Hope you’re Eid was well-spent!
As I mentioned in my previous post, Eid-al-fitr was this past Friday for some parts of the world, and on Saturday for others. Where I live, it was on Friday, June 15. This is how I spent my Eid:
The week of Eid is always very hectic because you’re preparing for Eid, while fasting and praying. Preparations for Eid includes the material things, such as getting all of your clothing ironed, accessories purchased, hair done, face cleaned, makeup look planned, etc., but also making sure the house is cleaned, squeezing in those duaas during the last few tahajjud prayers, and wrapping up your goals for this Ramadan, such as finishing the entire Quran.
Despite my mom telling me a month prior to have all my stuff ready, I went shopping for my accessories and shoes and Eid presents a few days before Eid (isn’t that how it always goes?). Luckily, I was able to find a nice clutch and some heels that matched my dress perfectly. My cousins in Canada sent me a hijab that was the same shade light green as my dress, so I didn’t have to search for that. I was also able to get my mom’s Eid present from my siblings and I.
The night before Eid, I did henna on my sister and a couple of her friends. As mentioned in the previous post, henna is a plant-based paste which results in a reddish-brown stain on the skin in the form of a temporary tattoo. Following the application, we brushed the dried paste with a lemon-sugar solution to keep the paste stuck to our skins while we slept.
We woke up early to take the ritual shower, ghusl, and get ready for prayer. My sister did both my mom and I’s makeup and we headed to the convention center, where the prayer was held. There were about 4,000 people in attendance this year. We made it just in time for the salah, and sat through the sermon that followed. Once that ended we got up and greeted everyone, which took about an hour.
Afterwards, we headed to a brunch that was held in the main library downtown. There was a huge hall rented out, in which nearly 400 people were present. The food consisted of traditional desi brunch food – halwa, puri, cholay, nahari, rice, naan, etc. I sat with my friends and greeted those I didn’t see at prayer.
We left the party a little early to catch Jummah prayer. On our way, we stopped by the graveyard where my aunt is buried to pay our respects. Since Eid was on Jummah, people were busy with festivities and so there weren’t many people at the weekly prayer.
After prayer, we headed home where we took family pictures for the next hour and took a collective nap, a yearly Eid tradition. After our nap, we got ready and headed off to another Eid party that night. When we came home we gave my mom her Eid present and hung out together as a family.
That was my Eid! Hope yours was just as fun and filled with joy and laughter!
Eid Mubarak, from my family to yours.
HAFSA QURAISHI 
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