Do muslim sisters and brothers in western countries feel the pleasure of EID?

Question

When I was in Lebanon, I enjoyed EID so much. My family and me always gathered with my relatives in my grandparents' home on the first day of EID and we ate breakfast, lauch and dinner together. We spend all the time together. We pray Jamaa and we Watch TV shows and we laugh and enjoy our time. The children get money from relatives and they go to fun land and buy toys. I liked that when I was a child. Now I live in Canada. I don't feel Eid at all. I always have exams on Eid days or in the same week and I can't skip classes because attendence in mandatory in most Engineering classes.
I am so sad.

What do you do and how do you enjoy your time?

The thing that makes me more pissed now is the snow that is half a meter above the ground. It is so called and I can't even go out because of it. I have to spend EID at home.

EID SAEED (HAPPY) TO EVERYONE

B,
yes this Eid in Shallah I will have finished my exams. My last exam in on the Eid's day (the 9th) but what about the snow and the cold weather?

I am Jewish, ha ha ha. You are so funny.
You make up the lie and you believe it.

Answer 1

I really don't. My husband gets so caught up in doing what he thinks is important that I think he doesn’t think about his children. He goes to the mosque, usually hangs out with his friends after or just comes home for a fast breakfast. And then he leaves to a far farm to slaughter the lamb where of course he spends the rest of the day with his friends from his country. He however does not seem to think it is as important to spend time with his family, and make it a fun day for the kids. So Eid is a sad day for me because I keep thinking that my kids will not have the great memories I have of growing up celebrating Christmas with my family and just enjoying so much that time together. I try to make the day special for them as much as I can, I am the one who buys them a gift, I try to make something fun with them. But apart from the gift that is basically just like any other day. Am I being unrealistic to expect Eid to be a happy family time? Perhaps! When I try to bring this up, he says, oh ok I will take the kids to the farm. How fun can that be to a 5 and a 4 year old. Travel an hour to get there. Be in the cold, whatch a lamb being slaughtered (blood and all), stand some more in the cold while their father is hanging out with his friends. Travel back home and end up sleeping in the car and be carried to bed. No, sorry, I don't think that is fun or health for such small children, and in the meantime they grow up without any fond memories of Eid.

Answer 2

I am sure I am gonna rake in the thumbs down on this one but here goes.......

I don't think the eids are all that fun. I am a convert to Islam from Christianity so I was used to huge celebrations with loads of family, food and gifts. The entire aura of the house was different on the holidays, it was exciting. Neither eid is this way for me. I WANT IT TO BE that way so bad but the way it is celebrated by the people I know and my in-laws it seems barely different from any other day.
My husband and in-laws get all excited and I can see they feel the excitement that I felt when I was Christian celebrating those holidays. Sometimes I think I just don't get it or something.
Anyhow now I have a daughter and I hope to make the two eids special for her, exciting and something to really look forward too. I think I have to make up some of my own little holiday traditions (no not a tree, stockings or other Christmas stuff! no eggs like Easter lol) that incorporate the reason behind each eid.

Answer 3

Well i have to say, i have a better eid here in the UK then i ever did in Pakistan. I found in pakistan, everyone did there own thing. they get all dressed up and just stay indoors eating rice lol. Here in the Uk there are pleanty of things for muslims to do, events etc and not to mention the hektik muslims parading the streets with flags etc. Its great! But more to the point, we read eid salah, go bk home, have ALL the family round, play games with the kids etc and give out money, presents etc. Have a good one!

Answer 4

hi mimi how are u i wanted to email u but i saw that u dont allow anyway i missed ur questions how are u doing i guess exams took u hony im wishing u good luck and success
and happy Eid of course
i read ur comment about eid atmospher there in western countries and it's really sad to hear that u spend a boring eid there but happy for those who can enjoy the eid there that good idea to look for all the muslims there in the city where u are and share the joy eid with u can creat an atmospher there call all ur relatives or friends there and all the arabic ppl there even if u dont know em just invite em to share rhe day with u this the sens of charity and brotherhood u can even invite one of ur friends who is not muslims if tha doesnt bothere to show him the joy and meaning on eid in islam
**for those who said Eid is boring in arabic countries and fun outside im sorry to hear that no no no no on the contrary eid here between family and u hear the 5otba of Eid and tahlilat el muslimin in masajid are greater than anything this the charm of Eid in muslim countries noway a eid day passes boring how come where are the families and kids playing and the masajid all crowded !! i dont know what happend to those arabic muslims in their own countries and having a bad eid
for me iam in algeria and i've never left my country the eid day is just amazing!!!!!!!!!!! i wish i can post pics of the eid here it starts days before el eid how : we prepare cakes and we buy the sheap and we bring it to home where all the kids crowded around it and laughing at it making that sound and taking photos with the cheap (lamb) then some fast all the 9 days of di el hedja and specially the 9th day coz sunah and has a great reward so imagine all these 9 days with the preparations and at the eid morning from 04.am u hear the men in mosques saying the tahlil wa el takbir "allah akbar wa li lah el hamed subhana el lah wa el hamde li lah wa la elah ela allah "they reapeat all the morning time till the time of el 5otba and el salat where all go to it even women after ppl salut and hugg each other then directly they go to dabh slaughter the sheap the man of the house is suposed to do i hiself and all the familly members should witness it except kids for fear of chock it's a sunah then the women quickly take the slaughtered sheap to clean it all those stuff togather all the ladies and houswives such an atmospher if u could see the women doing that men drinking coffee and tea kids playing asking for money ppl neighboors coming and going to say happy eid then the women cook the foods and they all eat togather we spend the day laughing talking eating visiting each other even days after eid this eid in my country

Answer 5

wow~~we are the opposites!!
i lived in the U.S. for the past 8 years and every Eid was a great time, now i live in the middle east, and last eid was SO BORING~~!!!!!!
Are you a college student??
I will give you my advice assuming you are...
PLAN AHEAD~~obviously, there has to be other Muslims where you are, call them and make plans...
Go to the Eid prayer, and get involved in the masjid communitty...
As for your classes, you can't tell me they last ALL day...and they should understand, when i was going to school in the U.S., they would let me take the whole day off from school, i dont really know about canada, but did you ask?? or just assume they wouldn't let u skip...?

Answer 6

It depends. The best Eid I ever had was in Egypt. It was so nice mashaAllah. Here in the US we have no family and that makes a bid differance. Last Eid was nice for me alhumdillah, but it was the first nice Eid I had in the US. InshaAllah this Eid will be nice. But I still miss being Eid in Egypt. InshaAllah we will return soon.

Answer 7

I definitely enjoy Eid here in the US because I live in a city where there are millions of muslims, and we actually have prayer in a hall where hundreds gather, and it feels like a real community. I visit family and friends. Also I have the luxury of eating all the pakistani foods on Devon Avenue a mini india/pakistan

Answer 8

i used to celebrate eid in saudi arabia every year and go far and beyond to have funl, but since i came to the us 4 years ago, i only do three things on eid:
1. wake up and say eid mubarak to my parents
2. get my eideya money
3. listen to my parents calling all the family in lebanon

but since i live in a city where 90% of the people are arabic, my schools gives us days off during eids

you're right there is no eid mood in western countries, and for us, people who are used consider eids the best times of the year, it's just disasterous... and this year to make it worst my dad is going to haj without me and i'm stuck in my city where all the Musims?!! go to clubs and drinks and they're all drug dealers, not joking, people there are fickle , they got so far into the western culture they forgot their arabic heritage...

Answer 9

i was raised in uae and now im a 13 year old boy in canada that is happy to be here, cuze all the arabic countries are now worse than those non muslims, i d rather have a non muslim friend cuze al of them r a bad picture of islam, saly i dont feel eid, but im soo happy to get 2 pray it, i can feel allah watching me all the time, eid mubarak, good luck on ur exams

Answer 10

I chill at the masjid and kick it with the brothers I meet. I always look forward to Ramadan and the two Eids because I get to meet so many new brothers. It's really cool.