Once Upon an Eid

Once Upon an Eid — page 5

Once Upon an Eid — page 6 — EDITORS INTRODUCTION Dear Readers Eid The short single syllable word brings up so many feelings and memories for Muslims Maybe it’s waking up to the sound of frying samosas or the comfort of bean pie maybe it’s the pleasure of putting on a new outfit for Eid prayers or the gift giving holiday parties or carnival rides to come that day Whatever it may be for most of us who cherish this day of celebration the emotional responses can be summed up in another short and sweet word joy Eid is an Arabic word meaning celebration feast that repeats i e that comes around each year There are two Eids that are primarily celebrated Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha Eid ul Fitr is the feast of breaking the fast marking the ending of Ramadan the month during which many Muslims fast from dawn to sunset Eid ul Adha is the feast of the sacrifice marking the tenth day of the month of Hajj during which capable Muslims undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca While most countries have adopted the solar calendar calendar which marks months and years based on the sun

Once Upon an Eid — page 7 — Muslim holidays follow the lunar calendar which follows follows the monthly cycles of the moon The lunar calendar operates differently from a solar calendar and as such Muslim holidays shift by about ten days every year Thus readers will see that our Eid stories in this collection take place at different times during the year While many people outside of the faith know about Ramadan and Hajj much of the world does not get to see the joy we feel on Eid in particular The customs diverse cultural markers and family traditions are insider experiences experiences seen only within our own communities This anthology you are holding opens up this experience experience to a wide variety of readers those who celebrate allowing you to snuggle into the familiar and cozy and those who don’t allowing you to join in on the celebrating celebrating We hope all feel welcome to the feast of stories we have laid out for you There are almost two billion Muslims around the world and we come from many different walks of life and cultures As a result the way that Eid is celebrated can vary from family to family community to community community culture to culture and country to country However However what unites all Muslims during these holidays from the Uyghur community in Central Asia to the Hui Muslims Muslims of China to the large Muslim community in Argentina Argentina is our shared faith and shared joy at celebrating this festive day 2

Once Upon an Eid — page 8 — We believe the stories in this anthology capture this mutual joy and it’s for this reason that we are thrilled to share this book with you Within these pages you’ll meet Hawa who is nervous about reuniting with her extended family for the Eid holiday in the Bronx You’ll meet Bassem Bassem who is figuring out his first Eid in a refugee community community off the coast of Greece and you’ll also meet Adam and Hannah two siblings sharing a hilarious car ride on the way to celebrate Eid with relatives in Australia These are just some of the amazing characters you’ll meet in this vibrant collection of stories We hope the joy will resonate with all kids Muslims or not and unite us all in celebration With love S K Ali and Aisha Saeed 3

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