Eid [status]

[rebeccmeister]

A good friend of mine invited me to Eid Mubarak last night*, and another good friend was willing to be the driver, so I went and was grateful for the chance to join a community to celebrate the breaking of the day's fast at the end of Ramadan.

This was a similar idea to other sorts of interfaith dinners. Food can be an important way of bringing people together, and this is the sort of thing we need to do to continue the challenging work of finding common ground with people different from ourselves. I really appreciated eating the first date after the sun went down, even though I did not fast the way my friend does/did.

There were henna artists in our midst! I've never had a henna tattoo before, so it was time to see what it's like!



Showing off our henna art as it dried:






I have a number of Muslim students, and it can be helpful to convey a visual sense of support, too.



*My understanding is this isn't quite the right conjugation of words here, but this is how I want to write it.

Comments

[yarnandglue]

How cool! Your henna is beautiful!

[rebeccmeister]

Thank you! Every time I glance down at my hand, I'm happy. :^)

[wookiemonster]

Coolness all around. If I ever get invited to a Seder or Eid Mubarak, as long as the inviter understands understands I'm an outsider and is willing to make allowances for that (and my questions), it would be fascinating.

I mean, as a Star Trek/Star Wars/Sci-Fi enthusiast, learning about and understanding other cultures is all good and encouraged. It would be like being on an ambassadorial away mission.

Also, bonding over food seems to be a universal thing. I know that when integrating a new cat in a cat household, it helps if treats are involved, having meals at the same time, even if the new cat is in the safe room with the door closed and the resident cat(s) are on the other side with their food dishes.

[rebeccmeister]

I think it's usually implied with this sort of invitation, that the invitation extends to teaching about what's happening, thankfully!

And yes, bonding over food is a widespread characteristic, particularly across social animals!

[annikusrex]

Beautiful and what a great experience.

[rebeccmeister]

Aye aye!!

[cmcmck]

I remember the henna work I had done when I was invited to a friend's wedding- she's Sikh. Also the only time I've ever worn a saree.

[ivy]

I was thinking I might try the fasting next year, just to get a sense of how difficult that is. (Maybe I make it two days, who knows.) My martial arts instructor is Muslim, and he was training in this heat without even drinking water. Dang. (We did have a fun conversation about how the rules work if you're traveling, though -- if you leave France during the day, and fly to LA, your day just got several hours longer... what now? Do you just have to wait longer? Turns out you can count from the sunrise and sunset of either end point -- there are historical/original traveling rules, but they're from the days when people moved at camel speeds, so not really up to date with jet speeds yet and that's a matter of discussion by scholars, heh.)

[mallorys_camera]

Those henna designs are spectacular.