Eid-Ul-Fitr is celebrated after Muslims across the globe complete a month of fasting from dusk to dawn during the holy month of Ramadan. While across cultures, the traditions may differ, there’s a unanimous joy that is celebrated in the form of food, family and friends. This will be the second consecutive year where the community will have to celebrate the festival differently. Eid hugs have been traded for warm smiles on video calls, Eidi envelopes and the excitement to open it has been replaced with digitally transferred money. Feasting on multiple delicacies with an endless dining table now feels like a distant dream.
Although Eid this year may not feel the same, the essence of it still remains. Even if it’s virtually, one has to be grateful for the loved ones who are healthy and safe right now. Until we’re able to enjoy the festivities the old way, here’s a warm fuzzy dose of nostalgia to hold on to.
Eid for me as a kid always began the previous evening, once the moon was sighted. I remember my dad would take us shopping to these brightly illuminated markets. With my clothes matching my juttis and my tiny purse, I would rally throughout the building with my equally enthusiastic friends. Each one holding a tray full of kheer bowls heavier than their body weight, hoping to make some cash (Eidi) from the neighbours through this Muslim version of trick-or-treating. After this, we would all hit the local fair (mela) and enjoy the Ferris wheel rides while indulging the sugar high supplied by ice lollies.
For more sentimental reminiscence, I reached out to a few team members and digital creators to share their best Eid memory.
1 Hanna Khan (Content Creator)
Image via: @hannakhan
“For me, the emotion on an Eid morning after fasting for an entire month tops any other. It’s the most important and special festival that I look forward to. This would actually be my first Eid after my recent wedding in my new home so I’m super nostalgic about some of my memories of Eid growing up. However, I consider myself blessed as my Eid outfit would be a form of Eidi and love bestowed upon me by my sister Ohaila Khan. She has been designing my Eid outfit since we were literally in school, even before she had her own label. For the past few years, she has been making custom-made outfits for me, which is kept a surprise until the night prior.”
2. Summiya Shah (Fashion/Beauty Influencer)
“My most memorable Eid memory is from when I was younger and my grandparents were still around. We used to get up early and get dressed in our new Clothes to collect Eidi; which is a token given by the adults to the kids. It wasn’t the amount but the excitement of collecting it from all the older family members and putting it in the piggie bank. The giggles, the squeal of who collected the most still rings in my ears. The day always ended with biryani and sheer khurma and it still does 20 years later.”
3. Aanam Chashmawala (Beauty Blogger/YouTuber)
“Growing up, our big fat family would come together to celebrate Ramadan Eid. On my father’s side, they have eight siblings and on my mom’s side they have five – so with everyone married and with kids, it was always a fun, family-filled, crazy affair for both lunch and dinner. Cut to the 2020/2021 kind of Eids, where it’s just been our individual family unit making the most of the festival; with gratitude in our hearts and hope to be able to go back to the big family affairs sometime into the future. It doesn’t mean we’re less excited for it though, it just means we’re fortunate enough to be hail and hearty through one more year. Wishing everyone a very Happy Eid.”
4. Samreen Samad (Beauty Editor, ELLE)
“My favourite memory of Eid is having my uncles and cousins come over after the morning prayers. It was a visual delight to see them in their pristine white new kurtas, embracing each other lovingly. This was followed by biryani and sheer khurma induced coma. The afternoon nap on Eid day is a different feeling altogether. In the last few years, my cousins have moved out of the city and we’ve not had big Eid parties, but I still love the little things about Eid like wearing new clothes, chopping dry fruits the previous night for kheer and mid-day snooze!”
5. Fawzia Khan (Booking & Photo Editor, ELLE)
“My fondest memory of Eid is from when I used to live in Delhi. Every year we would host a daawat for family and friends. It wasn’t ritual-heavy or traditional — we were never a traditional family — but an opportunity to have a good time and eat fantastic food with our favourite people. I was only 6 or 7 at the time, so the main event was never the biggest attraction for me. I loved the days leading up to the get-together when the scents of cloves, saffron, sizzling meat, and sugar syrup would mingle together and hang heavy in the hallways of my home. My mother would supervise the cooks in the garden and kitchen, and my sister and I would get to taste each and every dish as it got prepared. It was always a time of great excitement, and the promise of tasty food would have me zipping up and down the stairs and into the lawn. I don’t remember it as well as I should, but I do remember well the feelings of joy and festivity associated with that time.”
6. Gargi Agrawal (Digital Writer, ELLE)
“During my college days, I visited one of my friend’s house for Eid lunch. We were a huge group. In the festivities and talks, I totally forgot that I am lactose intolerant and ended up indulging in a bite of luscious phirni. While it tasted yum, my red face said otherwise. I had to rush back home early that day, not a nostalgic memory but a hilarious one for sure.”
7. Isha Mayer (Digital Writer, ELLE)
“There’s always one particular dish I associate Eid with the most and that’s Biryani! Sure I can order it from any other place but homemade Biryani during Eid is like a warm hug to your stomach. When I was a kid, one of my friend’s in my society had invited me to her house for dinner. After having that first bite of Biryani, that’s how my love for the dish actually grew. Unfortunately, before we could become that close, she moved to another city with her family. But I will still never forget that love and warmth I revived with the food and festivities in the family. Definitely, something I’ll always remember and cherish.”
8. Anavi Chander (Digital Intern, ELLE)
