My Eid :)

جانا العيد، جانا العيد، و الكل سعيد، جانا العيد 

This is our Eid song! Khalo’s voice singing it is Eid to me :)

Khalo is Mom’s brother, calling him Khalo is so different than calling him ‘uncle’.. Anyone could be an uncle, but Khalo; carries a deeper meaning.. A source of strength that a lot ot of kids are missing today..

A source of love, but different than your parents’, it’s more friendly & fun ;) Especially if it’s MY Khalo Khalo Khalo <3

Khal: Mother’s brother

‘Amm: Father’s brother

Do we agree now that uncle is so shallow in comparison to khaal or ‘amm?

Let’s get back to Eid, precisely ‘my Eid’ :)

If you don’t have Khalo Ahmad, you never had a real Eid :$

Days before Eid:

Mama & Baba take us shopping for new clothes, shoes & maybe more stuff :)

Until now.. 31, no almost 32 & Mama has to get me something new to wear :D

May I never see Eid without you!

Eid eve ;)

Our house full of uncles, cousins, grandparents, all laughing out loud & arguing over who’s drawing henna on our hands, & what shapes or patterns each one of us wishes to have..

Eventually it’s Khalo Ahmad doing the job for us, & henna drawings, well not exactly what we expected..

Only a little funnier ;)

Quickly we add lemon drops as it (henna) dries; to make it last longer..

Supposedly!

Eid day:

Early Morning:

We (my sister & I) wake up with Henna’s smell so strong in our hands, a smell that I absolutely love.. I quickly open my eyes to see how much darker it got, & man; nothing felt as beautiful & cool! My new temporary halal tattoo ;)

Then we get dressed up for Eid prayer.. Streets completely empty, & the cars are all piled up at each mosque.. We head to the ladies part (usually outdoors), & goodness, the flashy Arab colors beaming under the sunlight.. Little girls with a lot of make up on & young ladies feeling shy, as mothers look closely trying to find brides for their lonely sons..

And then it’s time to go home for a nap, or maybe not :D

We get together as it’s time for Eid presents.. Grandparents, parents, uncles give ‘edeya (money given to kids in Eid), but not Khalo Ahmad.. He gives ‘edeya, but in a completely crazy way that you’d never think of!

He’d stay up all night before Eid, just ‘making’ our ‘edeyas!

One time, we’d have to get blindfolded as he puts hats on our heads, & when we open our eyes, they’re hats that would have 200 Dirhams in toltal, stuck in 5 dirhams paper bills!

Another time, we’d get boards that’d have 200 dirhams or more, in 1 dirham coins glued beautifully to them (red boards; red as he is a huge Ahly fan :D)..

And more & more of those.. Over so many years..

May Allah bless him with a long healthy  life full of love.. Love that he taught us on & on, amen!

In the afternoon:

We go out, or you know what, maybe decide to travel! All spontaneous plans, just like our very spontaneous lifestyle..

Other Eids:

Would be at ‘Ammo’s place.. Lots of relatives & fun get togethers, singing & games..

Eid is all about us celebrating our love for eachother..

Nowadays it’s getting harder to do.. Miles are getting in the way & distances are changing every one to memories.. Memories that we trap in pictures, in our online albums, that we can’t even hold..

Eid prayers are slowly becoming sadder as our Muslim world bleeds everywhere..

*sighs*

My dearest family,

You are my Eid.. No matter how far you are, your well-being is my Eid!

May I never experience seeing any of you hurt or in pain..

My bigger family,

May Allah bring our Eid back, & all of your suffering come to an end & you’d get rewarded for your patience..

Our opressors,

May you never see or smell Eid on this earth or up there, amen!

P.S. This is Z’s picture in the Eid before the last one I had with her.. When will you come back & bring me Eid baby?