BGF's Sam Giurani: Celebrating Eid-el-fitr

Hear from Sam Giurani, Investor in our Midlands team, as he shares how he’ll be celebrating Eid-el-fitr this year with his family:

Muslims around the world will soon be celebrating Eid-el-fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan – the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, in which we fast from sunrise to sunset (one of Islam's five pillars).?

Ramadan is a month for prayer and reflection, and makes you appreciate the basic things that we all take for granted. Personally, Ramadan is always a challenge, as I use the month to stop drinking coffee (which is as difficult as it sounds), with the first week always being the hardest.

It’s an annual reminder that there are people struggling every day and, while I look forward to the end of the month, I'm always proud of finishing another year of fasting and know that I should do what I can to give to those less fortunate.?

Those who can afford to make a charitable donation, called Zakat-el-fitr, which is put towards feeding the hungry on Eid. Ramadan also reminds many of us to make larger annual donations (another of the five pillars of Islam).

The timing of Eid

This year, Eid will be celebrated at some point in the second week of April.?

Unlike the Gregorian calendar, which follows solar cycles, the Islamic calendar is based on lunar cycles (with 12 lunar cycles making up a year). Months start with the appearance of a new moon, and end with the appearance of the next one. While we humans have become good at calculating when new moons will appear, Eid will only be declared once the new moon has been observed.?

As you can imagine, this leads to some debate around who has or hasn't seen the moon, and often means different countries celebrating Eid on different days. All this ultimately results in the fun of trying to book off the right day from work to coincide with celebrations!

Preparations

?Once the new moon has been sighted, an announcement will go out that Eid is taking place the following day. You might be imagining a minaret announcing this in the distance... In reality, I normally hear from a barrage of WhatsApp messages from friends and family. Breaking my fast on that final day, knowing it’s the last, is always the most satisfying!

?Preparations for Eid will also start that night. In my family, my mum will spend the evening making Libyan sweets and desserts, for us to have in the morning and to give to visitors. As great as they are though, all I find myself wanting first thing?on the morning of Eid is a coffee (my first in a month!).

Celebrating Eid

Eid itself always has an early start. The day begins with dressing in traditional (or new) outfits and going to the mosque for morning Eid prayers. And we often take photos with family and friends outside the mosque after prayers. Lucky for me, a new mosque has just opened next door to my house, which is where my wife and I will go for prayers. This year, I'm planning to wear my Libyan farmila, as Eid is one of the few occasions in the year that I have to wear it.?

We'll then go to my family home, to say Eid Mubarak to my parents and siblings. At this point, we all get stuck into a traditional Libyan breakfast, called Aseeda. Its heavy and doughy, and covered in honey or date syrup. After a month without breakfast, I'm not convinced it’s the best idea, but it is tradition!?

After that, there will be endless long-distance phone calls to cousins, aunties, uncles, and grandparents who are scattered across the world. I'll wish my relatives Eid Mubarak in my broken Arabic and then swiftly hand over to one of my brothers (conversation is difficult, but they appreciate the thought – I think).

My parents live in Abu Dhabi and usually travel back to the UK to spend Eid together as a family, swapping the sunny UAE for glorious Nottingham! In the past, this was to escape the summer heat; but with Ramadan and Eid shifting 10 days earlier each year, I think there's a strong case for relocating our Eid celebrations to the UAE next year!

The rest of the day will be spent with family, snacking on homemade sweets like baklava and mamool. Perhaps surprisingly, it takes a while for the novelty of being able to eat during the day to wear off, so there's lots of eating just because you can! We also always eat out for dinner on Eid, as my mum has spent a month cooking big iftars (breakfasts) during Ramadan. And while it's not a Libyan tradition, it has become our family tradition to go for a curry.?

As with any religious festival, Eid is an occasion to spend time with family that you may not see very often. It's one of the few times a year that I see my parents, which also makes it one of my favourite times of the year.?

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