Have you ever wondered why the moon is a symbol of Islam? If you remember my blog about the Shab-e-Barat holiday, then you would know that holiday’s date was determined by the appearance of the moon. Eid, the biggest holiday of the year, is also dependent upon the appearance of the moon. (Can you imagine if the date of Christmas wasn’t set in stone?) There were three days that Eid could have been on: Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday – the good thing is that everyone gets at least three days off. In the days before Eid everyone was making plans, “If Eid is on this day, then we’ll do this. But if it is on that day then we’ll do that.” It was really confusing. Everyone knew that Eid wouldn’t be on Thursday, because the night before was a new moon. The speculation was that Eid would then be on Friday, because there would be no reason to not see the moon on Thursday night– it isn’t cloudy since it’s not rainy season. Based on this assumption Carolyn and I decided to go to Dhaka on Thursday and avoid the possible lack of buses due to the holiday on Friday. On Thursday night while we were shopping for Harry Potter books in Dhaka’s New Market among the crowds of last minute shoppers, we saw the moon. At first we just saw everyone looking at the sky, then we heard shouts, and then sirens. Then we saw it ourselves. It already felt like a holiday, but people began saying “Eid Muburek” to everyone they saw – even us. Instead of the future-minded culture of American in which “Merry Christmas” is said before Christmas and then ends promptly, in the past-oriented culture of Bangladesh you don’t start saying “Eid Muburek” until you see the moon.
November 11, 2005
Islamic Crescent
Have you ever wondered why the moon is a symbol of Islam? If you remember my blog about the Shab-e-Barat holiday, then you would know that holiday’s date was determined by the appearance of the moon. Eid, the biggest holiday of the year, is also dependent upon the appearance of the moon. (Can you imagine if the date of Christmas wasn’t set in stone?) There were three days that Eid could have been on: Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday – the good thing is that everyone gets at least three days off. In the days before Eid everyone was making plans, “If Eid is on this day, then we’ll do this. But if it is on that day then we’ll do that.” It was really confusing. Everyone knew that Eid wouldn’t be on Thursday, because the night before was a new moon. The speculation was that Eid would then be on Friday, because there would be no reason to not see the moon on Thursday night– it isn’t cloudy since it’s not rainy season. Based on this assumption Carolyn and I decided to go to Dhaka on Thursday and avoid the possible lack of buses due to the holiday on Friday. On Thursday night while we were shopping for Harry Potter books in Dhaka’s New Market among the crowds of last minute shoppers, we saw the moon. At first we just saw everyone looking at the sky, then we heard shouts, and then sirens. Then we saw it ourselves. It already felt like a holiday, but people began saying “Eid Muburek” to everyone they saw – even us. Instead of the future-minded culture of American in which “Merry Christmas” is said before Christmas and then ends promptly, in the past-oriented culture of Bangladesh you don’t start saying “Eid Muburek” until you see the moon.
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3 comments:
I agree that these long blogs must be some sort of disease. I enjoyed your last four entries and the pictures. And I am glad you have Carolyn now. I'm sure it is nice to have another female around who is your age and experiencing the same things you are. And have fun with the Harry Potter books!! They are so great! The fourth movie comes out here one week from today, I am so excited!
Your stories are great! I was wondering if you enjoyed Eid and your read my mind! Ramadan was great, but eating is great too!! I bet that probably makes things a lot easier for you again, so that is good!
That is really neat that you never know when the holiday will be until it is there!
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