Ramadan ends this week. It is a month of fast and prayer, asking to be forgiven. The end of Ramadan is Eid and is a holiday for the men in our village.
My mother and I cook much food on the day before Eid. We wake very early on the morning of Eid to finish prepare all the special food. My father and brother wake, then bathe and put on their best clothes. My mother and I pack the food into two large baskets. My father carries one basket and my brother carries the other. They leave for the mosque to pray the Eid prayer with the other men in the village.
My mother and I stay home. We have much work to do there. It is forbidden for women to go to the mosque. My mother and I pray at home as commanded and hope our prayers are heard. It is forbidden to pray if we are bleeding. But we are not bleeding today so we can say the Eid prayer. Then we start to work.
The house should be clean for Eid. We roll the large rugs and take them outside to beat the dirt and dust. The rugs are heavy and hard to carry. We hang the rugs over a tree. We put scarves on our faces to not breathe the dirt and dust from beat the rugs. Then we sweep the floors and wash them with water and rags. While the floors dry, we look for ripe food in the garden to pick. We pull weeds and give water to the garden.
When the floors are dry, we carry the rugs inside and put them down. We make the house tidy. Then we work in the kitchen, to prepare food for the evening meal. We work all day and the stew cooks long.
At the mosque my father and brother pray the Eid prayer. Then they listen to the imam. My father says he gives a special message to the men. Then the men go outside the mosque and greet each other. They open the baskets everyone brings and have a feast. The men share news and stories while boys play. They stay there all day.
We eat our evening meal when my father and brother come home. Then my mother and I clean the kitchen and wash all the dishes from the baskets. We begin cooking more food for the second day of Eid. We work until it is time for bed, then we sleep. I say more about the second day of Eid later.
