SOUMIA: ALL ABOUT EID!

Reader Soumia is a teenager living in Algeria… she has just finished celebrating the festival of Eid. Find out more about the muslim holy day in her fabulous post…

Soumia says:
EID is a holy festival celebrated by Muslims; it is the day that follows the month of Ramadan in which  Muslims fast for one whole month between the hours of dawn and sunset. Children, travellers and the sick don't fast, because it could be dangerous for them, but everyone else does. The purpose of the fasting is to experience the feeling of hunger that many poor people feel all around the world, and during Ramadan Muslims donate to these people to help them. The donation is what we call 'Zakat'. Fasting is a challenge, but I cope by distracting myself during the day - watching TV, praying and reading the Qu'ran, the Muslim holy book. At about 5pm on fasting days I help my mother to prepare the evening food and when it is iftar time (time to eat) we gather around and start our meal with dates and milk.

At the end of Ramadan comes EID, a day which all Muslims wait for impatiently! We wake very early in the morning, and the men (the fathers and brothers) go to Masjeed (mosque), the place where Muslims pray, to do EID prayer. Meanwhile the mothers and sisters prepare all kinds of cakes and cookies for the feast - the traditional EID greeting is EID MUBURAK which means 'blessed feast'! Mothers usually prepare the traditional delicacies as they are complicated and difficult to make, while the daughters make easier treats like cupcakes and chocolate cookies. The cakes in the picture are called baqlawa, a traditional Algerian sweet. When the men come back from Masjeed, all family members kiss each other - it's an EID tradition and we do it every year.

At midday, we finish preparing the cakes, decorate them and then we go to shower and change into new clothes to look all fresh. The new clothes part is one of my favourite things about EID! In the picture, that's me with my best friend Dounia during EID, in our new clothes. Next, guests begin to arrive - aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbours. Traditionally, we exchange all kinds of cookies to taste all the flavours, though only a few people still follow this ritual. In the afternoon, some families take younger children outside to a garden to play and have fun, while others will stay at home chatting and enjoying EID. At the end of the day, I usually feel a mixture of happiness and sadness. I am happy for having such an amazing time with my family, and sad because Ramadan is over and won't be back for another year.

Cathy says:
It's fascinating to hear about an Algerian EID… it sounds wonderful, though if I were helping out with the cooking I suspect I'd have to be given the easy recipes to bake, too! Do YOU or your friends celebrate EID? COMMENT BELOW to tell us more!