Eid and Simplicity

I usually get my Eid preparation started about a month before Eid day, but this year I have let things go a bit.

I have been discussing this with my husband and we both came to the conclusion that we need to reduce how much money we spend and manage our finances better. I have also realised that I spend a lot of money and give a lot of gifts to people to either please them or to assuage guilt over something. I realised that I am an adult and don’t need to indulge in these kinds of behaviours. So I have asked my sisters to keep it simple and not spend too much on me and my kids – buying gifts for so many people in one go becomes a burden and takes the joy out of Eid. On my part lots of people are getting handmade gifts and the kids are getting one gift each and one outfit for Eid day. I have not bought myself anything new – I am telling myself that Eid means wearing your best and not necessarily wearing everything new.

I still believe that my children should have something to show them how special a day Eid is (especially considering the Christmas ban – if you take something away you have to replace it with something better). But that doesn’t have to be large piles of gifts that are opened one after the other and then discarded. I will still decorate the house for them. I will make sure the excitement builds up in our house in the days before Eid. I will cook special food, I will invite family over and take the kids visiting. But I will also remind them that this day was given to us to celebrate because of Prophet Ibraheem’s (AS) willingness to sacrifice the one that was beloved to him for someone even more beloved to him. That we should think about how much Prophet Ibraheem (AS) loved Allah (SWT), how much Allah (SWT) loves us and how much love we should have for Allah (SWT). A day of celebration is wonderful when we have family, good food, our best clothes and gifts, but it is even more of a pleasure when we remember Allah (SWT) and our celebration has a sense of something not just fun but deeply good insh’Allah.