Eid Mubarak
The Eid-al-Fitr holiday has just passed and now everything is back to normal here in the UAE. Eid -al -Fitr is just one of the Eid holidays coming in the next 70 days after Ramadan and this particular feast reminded me of what I learned back in grade school, the feast of Hari Raya Puasa which means breaking of the fast in Malay.
This holiday is also celebrated in Manila as a one-day holiday (Nov. 4) but here in the UAE, it is somewhat protracted, which also reminds me of the way we celebrate Christmas in the Philippines. If you are working here in one of the government offices, the holiday is a week-long observance (Nov 2 to 6) while the private offices normally had it for three days (including the Friday off).
I was also somehow bemused by the memo released by my previous company in Dhabi. It tells that
" ....The company will observe the first and second day of the Eid al Fitr holiday..." without announcing explicitly which days are those.
Of course, the normal reply was that it depend on the moon sighting which first day in November will it fall (Nov 2 or 3). But for me, without being too insensitive to the cultural connotation, the memo was the most ambiguous memo I've read in years, it was actually my first.
People in the office, and here is the most amusing part, espcially the non-muslims, also prayed hard that the moon should appear by Nov 2 < - and it would be hypocritical of me I say I'm not one of them, ;=) >.
When I got back here in Dubai, my flatmates are also hoping for a start of Nov 2 holiday start. But alas, Eid was declared in Nov 3 dampening the hopes of those in the private sector of a longer work vacation.
Despite this trivialization, I enjoyed Eid in one of its truest sense. I was invited in one Muslim Household in Deira and got to taste the hospitality and tradition of Eid.
But then I never anticipated how painful my tooth could be the next morning. Despite this, Eid al-Fitr has just become one of my favorite holidays!
This holiday is also celebrated in Manila as a one-day holiday (Nov. 4) but here in the UAE, it is somewhat protracted, which also reminds me of the way we celebrate Christmas in the Philippines. If you are working here in one of the government offices, the holiday is a week-long observance (Nov 2 to 6) while the private offices normally had it for three days (including the Friday off).
I was also somehow bemused by the memo released by my previous company in Dhabi. It tells that
" ....The company will observe the first and second day of the Eid al Fitr holiday..." without announcing explicitly which days are those.
Of course, the normal reply was that it depend on the moon sighting which first day in November will it fall (Nov 2 or 3). But for me, without being too insensitive to the cultural connotation, the memo was the most ambiguous memo I've read in years, it was actually my first.
People in the office, and here is the most amusing part, espcially the non-muslims, also prayed hard that the moon should appear by Nov 2 < - and it would be hypocritical of me I say I'm not one of them, ;=) >.
When I got back here in Dubai, my flatmates are also hoping for a start of Nov 2 holiday start. But alas, Eid was declared in Nov 3 dampening the hopes of those in the private sector of a longer work vacation.
Despite this trivialization, I enjoyed Eid in one of its truest sense. I was invited in one Muslim Household in Deira and got to taste the hospitality and tradition of Eid.
But then I never anticipated how painful my tooth could be the next morning. Despite this, Eid al-Fitr has just become one of my favorite holidays!
posted by YelJay @ 9:07 PM
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