Dubai Many think Eid and special occasions in general have lost their real spirit with people opting to greet one another with mass messages over social media and messaging apps.
Back in the day people would buy cards to send to their family and friends, and families would gather the night before Eid or on the morning of Eid to call family to wish them on the occasion.
Pakistani Saba Aizaz said that times have definitely changed. “Before we used to call or send cards and received them. Now parents still call my aunts, uncles and grandparents, but I just Whatsapp and write on Facebook.”
The tradition of sending greeting cards has almost died. “People do not send letters and cards any more,” she says, adding that sometimes one receives an e-card, but even that has become rare.
The excitement of receiving cards on Eid and on birthdays is no longer there, Aizaz said. “It was also exciting to go and select cards for your cousins and relatives.”
However, she said social media has made people less in touch with each other on a personal level such as meeting face to face and speaking on the phone. “But on a positive note, [social media] is good because it helps you keep in touch with friends who are in another country.”
Toaa Bakr, a 22-year-old Egyptian customer service employee, said Eid greetings have lost their warmth. “With social networks and text messages we don’t call one another any more. Maybe this is because we have got used to sending one broadcast message and selecting our friends list or posting a Facebook picture and tagging them. I don’t do this any more as I prefer texting each person individually as it is more meaningful.”
Toaa said that this change is normal because of the development of technology, but she believes it’s a bad transformation, as people don’t come together the same way. “Now we are just a broadcast and an emoticon to each other.”
With people being preoccupied with their day to day problems, many do not have the time to pick up the phone and call, she said.
Sarah Mohammad, an Egyptian-Philippino PR specialist, said, “Eid used to be a much bigger deal when I was younger, especially the first day. Family and friends would go house hopping all day to celebrate; and even fly to different countries to be with each other. Today, you get the random Eid Mubarak from your telecommunications provider and it doesn’t feel the same.”
Now Eid is more intimate and people tend to travel and not spend it with family and friends like before, Sarah said. “Eid used to bring people together and now it just seems like a good opportunity to get away. Travel companies capitalised on this opportunity by offering Eid travel deals and they’re quite hard to turn down.”
Sarah said she greets her friends through text messages. “The most popular thing I’ve seen most do is put up an Eid Mubarak Facebook update. I don’t do it because I don’t feel the updates are as personal as they’re meant to be.”
Being a fan of tradition, Sarah said she prefers things the old way, where people call and visit each other. “This is why I enjoy spending Eid in Egypt. Not much has changed there.”
Nada Ebrahim, a 24-year-old database developer, said greeting one another has become less personal over the past few years.
This change is not just among the new generation, Nada’s parents have also changed their greeting habits. “Since we spent most of our lives away from our relatives, my family and I would call our relatives and friends and greet them…now my parents prefer texting or using Whatsapp or Facebook to call relatives and friends with the exception of my grandparents.”
Nada does not see this as a bad change or a good one. “It is a normal development as technology has made it easier for people to communicate. Nevertheless, because of this, people have become lazier.”
Neha Mohammad Tahir, a Pakistani medical student, said she thinks people don’t really value relationships nowadays, with most communication being virtual.
“Since I was a child, I remember visiting everyone’s house for Eid and that is what we [as a family] do now as well…I greet my friends through BlackBerry messenger, Whatsapp or Facebook and sometimes I call. I would always prefer the old way because it teaches you the value of relationships.” Tahir said.
