Eid is basically a celebration where people meet and greet each other, exchange eidi and gifts and invite relatives to Eid get-togethers. However, like everything else, the way we celebrate it has also changed.
INTROSPECTION
Eid is basically a celebration where people meet and greet each other, exchange eidi and gifts and invite relatives to Eid get-togethers. However, like everything else, the way we celebrate it has also changed. Getting up before Fajr time? No way! We go to sleep in the small hours of morning, which rules out going out to mosque for Fajr prayers for guy. Some don’t even bother going for Eid prayers. Girls, too, have to complete last minute shopping and cannot get up early. My mother said when she was growing up, kids used to rise and shine pretty early. My mom and her neighbourhood friends used to visit each other’s houses and get eidi wherever they went. Nowadays, not many people are aware who their next door neighbours are, so kids can hardly experience the joy of going to friends and eating yummy Eid treats prepared by their moms.
Have people been losing respect and passion for Eid? They celebrate Eid just like a common day, some even spending the day in bed. The concept of Eid is totally different in 2017. They do go out in the night or host dinner at home still, but the simplicity that used to make Eid dinners a joyful occasion is not witnessed anymore. It’s more about sporting designer clothes and shoes and the number of dishes now. Because, if they don’t upload their pictures on social media, how will others find out about the stupendous way they celebrated the big occasion.
Instagram, Snapachat and Facebook - these are the most prevalent online networking destinations where individuals demonstrate to the world what they did on Eid. I am not absolutely against this idea, but by becoming obsessed with posting on the social websites, we somehow overlook the spirit of the occasion and forget our identity. We, the young people, are confused and distracted.
When I was growing up, people I knew would make mouthwatering dishes anight before, expecting guests immediately after Eid prayers. Nowadays, it’s different. What’s the need of spoiling chand raat when ordering food from your favourite eatery is so much simpler? Yes, expensive food is served to guests and family, but that novelty of delicacies cooked by moms and grandmoms is a thing of the past. The magic of chand raat is still intact: girls and women still go to salons, and apply mehndi. Purchasing bangles the night before has become a fetish. I questioned few people, mostly young, what Eid is basically for them and how the celebration of Eid has changed.
Hiba, who is 19, says Eid-ul-Fitr is a blessing from Allah, and she used to enjoy it a lot in her childhood. She still loves Eid but now studies and other things have changed the way she celebrates it.
Eid is 20 year old Duaa’s favorite occasion. She says it’s only time of the year when her pocket money gets doubled. Plus, her relatives from abroad usually come to celebrate it in Pakistan.
Larib is 23 years old and feels that as we get older, the excitement of Eid becomes less. She says we get more eidi, but compared to Rs10 she used to get, but those Rs10 seemed a fortune back then. She thinks it’s because of responsibilities like paying bills that have lessened the joy.
16 year old Arham says that celebrating Eid with our own relatives felt great; there was happiness. Now, teenagers just take it as a chance to have a party. Hamza who is 22 says back in old days, it was more about meeting and celebrating with family, but over time it has changed into something that is only limited to shopping and flooding streets with people.
