Ok so I have no idea why this didn't post yesterday like I told it to! So sorry!! Guess you'll just have another day of double posts!
We're headed to Luxor this afternoon for Eid (well, since I'm posting this Friday, we actually left yesterday). Since I don't have much time to tell you what I did today, let’s talk a little about what Eid actually is. Eid is the end of Ramandan, the Muslim holiday month when the prophet Muhammad visited heaven. Apparently, this is when the revelations of God were given to man through the prophet Muhammad. They ‘celebrate’ the holiday month by fasting from sunrise to sunset and by being overly generous to the poor. It is technically forbidden to fast on the day of Eid, so there’s a big feast day (which day it falls on is determined by the lunar cycle, so Ramandan varies in length, and the actual feast day is only decided at the last minute).
We're headed to Luxor this afternoon for Eid (well, since I'm posting this Friday, we actually left yesterday). Since I don't have much time to tell you what I did today, let’s talk a little about what Eid actually is. Eid is the end of Ramandan, the Muslim holiday month when the prophet Muhammad visited heaven. Apparently, this is when the revelations of God were given to man through the prophet Muhammad. They ‘celebrate’ the holiday month by fasting from sunrise to sunset and by being overly generous to the poor. It is technically forbidden to fast on the day of Eid, so there’s a big feast day (which day it falls on is determined by the lunar cycle, so Ramandan varies in length, and the actual feast day is only decided at the last minute).
In Egypt, the Eid is celebrated with an official three-day holiday, where schools, the government, and many businesses are closed. If you really, really wanted to find something comparable in Christianity, I guess I would say it’s like Lent, where you try to be on your best behavior during the fasting period, then be joyful and forgiving and happy on Easter (just don’t try to overlay any of the religious significance). The Eid feast day is treated like Easter, in that it is usually celebrated with families and everyone is dressed in their finest. There’s even a special Eid prayer service, and for the Sunnah Muslims, it is expected that wealthier families pay the Sadaqat-ul-fitr, a charity tax of sorts, to the needy before attending the service. The other 2 holiday days are used as holidays- to be spent as one pleases.
The worst part of Eid (well, to the Western sensibilities) is the slaughter of the goats. Really early in the morning on the feast day, just after the first call to prayer (which is at about 4:30 or so- I hear it every morning), families will slaughter a goat or cow if they can afford it to eat at the feast meal. In the provinces, this means a whole lot of scared, crying animals and a whole lot of blood running in the streets. People dip their hands in the blood and put bloody handprints all over the town for good luck. CSI: Egypt would have a tough time during Eid. Needless to say, none of us really wanted to be around in Edfu when this was going on, hence why we escaped. While they’ll do the slaughtering in Luxor as well, it’s usually separated from the tourist areas.
Eid Mubarak (“blessed Eid”), everyone!
- Muslim Theologian (or at least I play one on the internet)
