Eid-ul-Fitr is the recurring festival to celebrate the end of the month of Ramadan. Although the date on which this occurs changes every year by approximately two weeks, meaning it could happen in any of the four seasons, the enthusiasm with which it is celebrated never changes. For my family, we all get together in Mardan no matter which corner of the country we are in with the rest of my uncles and aunts. So we can celebrate together.
My day usually starts around 5 a.m the morning of Eid, and it usually involves taking a shower, brushing my teeth and hair, and putting on some sort of perfume. I of course also have new clothes to wear on Eid, as does everyone else. This past year I wore, shalwar kameez, the colour of which was light brown. The clothes this year had to be a bit warm because Eid this year took place in September, when it is not really winter or summer. It is autumn and the temperatures are neither unbearably hot nor cold. I did not this year have any time to eat anything before going to the Eid khutba and prayer, which has its own charm. No doubt, this is probably one of the happiest times of the year around the country.
After offering the necessary prayers, we come back home to congratulate and celebrate by having a large variety of foods and drink, going around to relatives and friends houses, checking out each others clothing, and playing some cricket or football (or any other “sport” we can imagine) is all part of what Eid is about. The best part of it is that there are two more days left after the initial celebration and we get almost a week off school.
As mentioned earlier, the end of Ramadan, the religious aspects, the clothing, the food, the horsing around, are all part of Eid but the part that is most important to me is the fact that everyone has the chance to get together and bond. The ease with which everyone gets together and celebrates and the happiness that one feels on Eid-ul-Fitr is something I have yet to see any other...