domingo, 24 de mayo de 2020

Eid-al-Fitr, The End of Ramadan

Eid-al-Fitr is the first day of  the month of Shawwal and the day Ramadan ends, so it is celebrated by Muslims around the world: people dress in their best clothes, exchange gifts, attend communal prayers, listen to a sermon (khutba), practice charity with the poor (zakat al-fitr), and they greet with the words "Eid Mubbarak!" (Holy Feast!) as you can read on this web page.

In Turkey, this year's Eid's celebrations will be severely restricted to fight the spread of the coronavirus epidemic: a strict 24-hour curfew has been ordered in 83 provinces for two days and worshippers will not be allowed to pray in mosques, as you can read in this Aljazeera report and video, which is accessible to B2 students and above.

But the epidemic has also brought "amazing signs of solidarity" like the Berlin church that has hosted Muslim worshippers to help them maintain physical distancing rules while they pray together in Eid-al-Fitr, as Aljazeera reports in this B2 article.

In Arabia, Saudis are finding new ways to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr in lockdown:  Muslims will perform Eid-al-Fitr prayers at home, and they will exchange homemade gifts, decorate their home for the occasion and play home games like pinatas,  according to this Arab News report, which quotes 30-year-old Hadeel Ezmirli: "I want to at least feel the vibe of Eid, even though I will be at home".  This article, for its length and vocabualary can be classified as C1.