Eid Al Fitr is an occasion that is embraced by both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities in the UAE. And so, the mood is all the more celebratory and the festivities fall nothing short of extraordinary.
Farouk Bhagani, a managing director for a global conglomerate, recounts Eid experiences in his Pakistani-American household to Gulf News.
The holiday is typically characterised by family gatherings, presenting children with Eidi or money, donning new attire, performing charity or Sadaqat Al Fitr, and attending prayers.
Good food
"We go for our prayers, indulge in social activity throughout the day, and meet up with friends and family.
"Our gatherings are centred primarily on socialising and having rich foods and drinks," he said.
The Bhagani family's traditional Eid meal consists primarily of Pakistani cuisine.
"The traditional Eid feast would consist of barbecued meat, biryani [seasoned rice with meat], korma [a type of curry], and sweets like sheerkurma, kheer, gulab jamun, suji ka halwa and rasmalai... lots and lots of them!" Farouk said. "As, these days, Eid falls in the warm season, most activity is restricted to indoors at ours or other people's homes."
However, his family does not do anything "exceptional because of our Pakistani-American heritage".
Many expatriate families residing in the UAE might find that being away from home affects their traditional Eid celebrations. Has the change in place made any impact on Eid at the Bhaganis?
Socialising
Farouk said that his family's Eid festivities have, on the contrary, become more jovial in the UAE as it is more "beneficial to celebrate it here than back home".
He added that in the US, celebrations are similar except "not everyone is able to get off work, and so there is more focus on social activity in the evening and [the] following weekend."
