Every Eid, people in Qatar do different things to celebrate. But there are many things that everyone does, and that are considered cultural traditions, which get people together and strongly connect them in those very few days every year. On Eid El-Fitr, for example, people celebrate that Ramadan is over, and from then on everyone can eat and drink, and fasting is not required during the day anymore. On the first day, fathers and sons wake up with the sunrise to go to the Eid prayer. After that people finish praying at the big mosques, they greet each other at the door and go home to celebrate the Eid with their friends and family. People usually have lunch at restaurants during the Eid days, and then in the afternoon they start going out and visit relatives and friends. During those shorts visits, “maamool” –an Arabic date cake– is served with tea or traditional Qatari coffee. Those are centuries-old traditions that have been followed ever since then till today.
Well, for me, Eid days are never so exciting; it is always the same thing over and over again. And I am a kind of person who loves trying out new things all the time, and hates routine. Thank God, this Eid something new happened. We just moved a few months ago to this new house. To us, this is a totally new neighborhood, with people we don’t know, mostly Qataris. On the first day of Eid, the bell rang, and I ran out to check who was at the door. When I opened the door, a lady –who was probably an Indonesian housemaid– handed me a covered plate that smelled so nice and sweet. She told me that she is the maid of the house that is next to ours, and that the sweets are a traditional gift from the Qatari family, who own the house.
I found this very nice and generous, and it made my Eid a different one. Finally something surprising happened; we got a traditional present from strangers, who until today we have not met! L.N.
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