Abu Dhabi: Ahmad Al Khatib, from Palestine, has been a resident of the UAE for most of his life. The 35-year-old who works as a company manager talks of the excitement just the thought of going home for Eid evokes.
“At home, I’m surrounded by my extended family which makes me feel good because I feel like I’m a part of something special. Back home in Palestine, I [look forward] to all the activities,” Al Khatib said.
Eid with family is all about quality time, he said, but he does not always get the pleasurable opportunity to cele-brate it with his loved ones back home. This year, however, the summer break has offered the perfect chance to get home in time for Eid. His heart, he says, is in Palestine.
The celebrations for Eid back home start at the crack of dawn, he said. Men in the family go for the traditional Eid prayer at the mosque.
After the prayer, it is a tradition for the men to visit the graves of the late members of the family and recite holy passages and pray for their souls.
- Ahmad Al Khatib, Abu Dhabi resident
Once the men have finished the prayers both at the mosque and the cemetery, they walk around the Al Khatib neighbourhood, going from door to door, where the women await with a variety of handmade traditional sweets, said Al Khatib. The sweets include the famous baklava, a sweet pastry-based dessert, and kunafa, which is a mix of cheese vermicelli and sugar syrup poured on top. Visitors are also offered qahwa and tea, he said. While they enjoy the sweets, the men hand out eidiya, a traditional gift of money given to the younger generations. The ritual is repeated in every household in their neighbourhood, Al Khatib said.
Traditional Eid lunch
“Then it is time for the traditional Eid lunch, which is either served at the eldest brother or grandmother’s house,” said Al Khatib. “The great meal is prepared for the whole family by the grandmother, and always consists of the most important dish Manfas, a rice and lamb dish served on a huge platter.”
The second and third days of Eid are filled with family trips and activities.
The full Al Khatib family gets together at a meeting point and boards a rented bus. Al Khatib says the excitement levels can be well imagined. “There, sheer joy is experienced by all on that bus ... surrounded by people you have longed to be with all year round.”
The trips are normally planned a week or two in advance to destinations like Bisan or Tabariyah, which are mountainside towns that have lakes and beautiful rivers. Care is taken to ensure that all activities are planned so all generations in the family can enjoy the outing — for those who wish to relax and others who wish to go all out with activities such as kayaking, said Al Khatib.
“I love the fact the we go out on the second and third day of Eid,” he said. “The trips are always more fun and very memorable, and every Eid, the trips get better and better.”
This year, Al Khatib is joining his family in Palestine a few days before Eid so he has time to go shopping with his cousins. He could hardly wait to take those bus trips with all on board.
— Sara Al Jenibi is an intern with Gulf News
