Today, I and many (I say many because some celebrated yesterday and others will tomorrow depending on the sighting of the moon where they live) other Muslims around the world celebrated Eid-ul Fitr. This is the celebration that commemorates the end of the holy month of fasting a.k.a. Ramadan. To any fellow Muslims reading this, I wish you a heartfelt Eid Mubarak. I pray that all had/will have the opportunity to spend this blessed time with the ones they love.
The end of Ramadan, and especially Eid day brings to me a mix of sentiments. On the one hand, I realize that I will have my pre-Ramadan routine back. But, with the return of that routine, I fear I may lose that increase in spirituality I had worked towards achieving over the past thirty days. So, tonight as I sit here typing away, I resolve to spend these next eleven months preparing for next Ramadan. I want to reach a point where I don't have to feel like I am doing so many extra things to be better during Ramadan. And perhaps, this is the point of Ramadan. Yes, it is a special blessed month. But, apart from the fasting, the remaining practices are things we should be focused on all year long, not just for one month. So, I end with this. I give myself credit for the areas in which I improved this month. And, I resolve to keep these new practices alive, so that I can improve even more next year instead of starting from the same place I did this year.
Now, in the spirit of celebration, let me tell you about my Eid-ul-Fitr 2015.
Last night, my mother, sisters, and I had a chand raat party at our new home. And since I am the sentimental type, I would also like to document that last night also marked our first meal at the new home. We have not moved in yet, but we did our eid prep there just for fun. I did my own nails and henna and I was quite pleased with the results. I painted my nails black and accented them with silver studs. My mother picked up the henna cones for us from the Indian Bazaar and the color came out so nice! I will share some photos at the end of this post.
Eid morning was great as well. I went to bed pretty late the night before, but it was easy to wake up because of the excitement of the day! I woke up at four and thought it was time to get up, but that was just my dad getting ready to drop someone off at the airport all the way in Chicago. So, I actually woke up at six to get ready. I wore a beautiful dress with a lot of delicate embroidery. I was very happy to have gotten it as an early eid gift from an auntie at the masjid, so I could wear it today. I thought that was sweetest gesture and I truly loved the dress on me. I won't be sharing an outfit shot, but you can see some of the embroidery in the henna picture :)
Once we got to the masjid, I got to see everyone all dressed up and wish them a mubarak eid. We exchanged hugs, compliments, and conversations. It really was a lovely day.
In the afternoon, my cousins and sisters played Monopoly at the new house and I just chilled out at home. In the evening I went out to dinner with my parents, siblings, and cousins. We went to my favorite restaurant in the city. It's an Indian place with the best South Asian food I've ever had. I may also be slightly biased because we are good friends with the family who owns the restaurant and they are also the nicest people ever. The food was phenomenal as always. And, as always, we topped off the night with their special chai and mithai (sweets).
All in all, today was a wonderful day because I got to spend it with my "masjid family" and my "family family". The delicious food and beautiful clothes didn't hurt either. And of course, at the end of the day, reflecting on the true meaning of eid is essential. I pray that everyone is happy about eid as I am and that we all derived benefit and blessing during Ramadan this year.
Lastly, I also want to express my gratitude for being able to celebrate eid freely in my country and for being given the resources to celebrate in this way. All Muslims in the world do not have the luxury of amazing food and new/clean clothes to celebrate this day. I have to remember them and be grateful for being one who is afforded these comforts. So, let's enjoy this time with our families, be grateful, and reflect on the holy month that has passed.
Oh and one last time, Eid Mubarak!
xo Aneela
The end of Ramadan, and especially Eid day brings to me a mix of sentiments. On the one hand, I realize that I will have my pre-Ramadan routine back. But, with the return of that routine, I fear I may lose that increase in spirituality I had worked towards achieving over the past thirty days. So, tonight as I sit here typing away, I resolve to spend these next eleven months preparing for next Ramadan. I want to reach a point where I don't have to feel like I am doing so many extra things to be better during Ramadan. And perhaps, this is the point of Ramadan. Yes, it is a special blessed month. But, apart from the fasting, the remaining practices are things we should be focused on all year long, not just for one month. So, I end with this. I give myself credit for the areas in which I improved this month. And, I resolve to keep these new practices alive, so that I can improve even more next year instead of starting from the same place I did this year.
Now, in the spirit of celebration, let me tell you about my Eid-ul-Fitr 2015.
Last night, my mother, sisters, and I had a chand raat party at our new home. And since I am the sentimental type, I would also like to document that last night also marked our first meal at the new home. We have not moved in yet, but we did our eid prep there just for fun. I did my own nails and henna and I was quite pleased with the results. I painted my nails black and accented them with silver studs. My mother picked up the henna cones for us from the Indian Bazaar and the color came out so nice! I will share some photos at the end of this post.
Eid morning was great as well. I went to bed pretty late the night before, but it was easy to wake up because of the excitement of the day! I woke up at four and thought it was time to get up, but that was just my dad getting ready to drop someone off at the airport all the way in Chicago. So, I actually woke up at six to get ready. I wore a beautiful dress with a lot of delicate embroidery. I was very happy to have gotten it as an early eid gift from an auntie at the masjid, so I could wear it today. I thought that was sweetest gesture and I truly loved the dress on me. I won't be sharing an outfit shot, but you can see some of the embroidery in the henna picture :)
Once we got to the masjid, I got to see everyone all dressed up and wish them a mubarak eid. We exchanged hugs, compliments, and conversations. It really was a lovely day.
In the afternoon, my cousins and sisters played Monopoly at the new house and I just chilled out at home. In the evening I went out to dinner with my parents, siblings, and cousins. We went to my favorite restaurant in the city. It's an Indian place with the best South Asian food I've ever had. I may also be slightly biased because we are good friends with the family who owns the restaurant and they are also the nicest people ever. The food was phenomenal as always. And, as always, we topped off the night with their special chai and mithai (sweets).
All in all, today was a wonderful day because I got to spend it with my "masjid family" and my "family family". The delicious food and beautiful clothes didn't hurt either. And of course, at the end of the day, reflecting on the true meaning of eid is essential. I pray that everyone is happy about eid as I am and that we all derived benefit and blessing during Ramadan this year.
Lastly, I also want to express my gratitude for being able to celebrate eid freely in my country and for being given the resources to celebrate in this way. All Muslims in the world do not have the luxury of amazing food and new/clean clothes to celebrate this day. I have to remember them and be grateful for being one who is afforded these comforts. So, let's enjoy this time with our families, be grateful, and reflect on the holy month that has passed.
Oh and one last time, Eid Mubarak!
xo Aneela
