My first Eid in China

Muslims around the world celebrated Eid ul Fitar on the first day of Shawwal in Islamic calendar. After whole month of fasting, the month of Ramadan was over. The next was the celebration, Eid ul Fitar.

This is the first time I was celebrating Eid overseas. I am doing masters from Communication University of China, Beijing. I am living in international student’s dormitory and we have many Muslim students from different part of the world. In the month of Ramadan we had iftar together and very often went for Friday prayer together.

In fact, all were excitedly waiting to discover on which day Eid would be. On Thursday, the Pakistan embassy announced that Eid prayer would be held on Saturday at 8 am, but there were concerns because on the same day in some provinces they announced that Eid would be on Friday. We kept contacting Chinese Muslim friends in Beijing and other expats in different provinces to confirm. The Islamic scholars suggest that where you are currently living you need to follow the rules of that place.

Finally, Muslim students came to the conclusion that this time Eid would be in a way similar as in Pakistan like two Eids in one country, one occasion divided into two. In Beijing the Eid was observed on Saturday whereas in Henan and some other provinces, it was celebrated on Friday.

Just like all the previous Eids, the arrangements began with the start of Ramadan and proceeded smoothly. It is standard for nearly everybody to dress in new clothes. So, the shopping of clothes, dresses, shoes and the rest is always looked forward to during Ramadan. The markets too get into the festive mood with extraordinary deals on offer.

The Eid prayers are offered after the morning prayer. It is not compulsory to attend the Eid prayer, but almost all Muslims do. After the prayer ceremony is over, people exchange greetings. At home, lunch is prepared along with sweets and deserts of various kinds. People visit their friends and relatives to greet them. This is the occasion of huge family gatherings, as well as friends and relatives are invited to share the feast, which I missed the most. Gifts and greeting cards are exchanged and children receive presents and cash. Eid is a joyous occasion but its underlying purpose is to praise God and thank to him.

However, this time the whole celebration was different. In addition, being a student, this was the last week of the semester which is obviously the time of exams. Students were hoping Eid to fall on Saturday otherwise they wouldn’t be able to attend the prayer. Luckily, in Beijing the Eid prayer was announced on Saturday morning.On moon night, Muslim students spoke with each other to decide where to go for prayer.In Beijing there are eight mosques, including one in Pakistan embassy and in Sudan embassy, both attract many expat Muslims. Usually, Muslim students go to a nearby local mosque for Friday prayer but this time, on this special occasion, it was decided to go to Sudan embassy mosque. The time of prayer was 8 am, so we needed to get up early, wear new clothes and take subway to go there.

While, on the way many Muslims students joined, they were also going there, after 45mints of ride, we arrived at the mosque. People from different countries were gathered. Most of the Muslim families were there to attend; ladies had a separate portion for the prayer. I must admit the arrangements were outstanding, water, juices, dates and sweets were put on tables. After the prayer, everybody greeted each other. I made many friends and I got to know many Pakistani students over there and we talked and exchanged contacts.

After the prayer preparation for lunch began. Friends were invited, and delicious meals were enjoyed. The first day of Eid was in fact quite busy, meeting and visiting friends, getting together and after visiting to Chaoyang Park we went for popular meal “Beijing roast duck”.

On the second day, a friend’s family which was visiting China from Pakistan to attend his graduation ceremony invited us for dinner. At the dinner I met many of my country mates along with other friends from Afghanistan and Sudan. His father was a former special correspondent of Associated Press of Pakistan in China from 2006-2014.

His father had arranged dinner at his apartment. It felt like home, it was a big dinner, traditional food were cooked along with sweets and desserts. He told us many stories from his previous stay in China. Of course as students of mass media, we were keen to listen because of his professional expertise; we had the opportunity to have meaningful conversation.

In addition, one of the students, a writer and producer, screened the movie “Letter to the president” on this special occasion. Although, the movie has not yet been released but he screened it for us.

The author is a master’s degree student at Communication University of China, Beijing.