8 things you will miss if you are away from home this Eid

Eid — the festival that evokes millions of emotions among Muslim expats and fills them up with nostalgia. Moreover, it’s not just the day of Eid that takes them on an emotional roller coaster, but also the days leading to Eid. From waking up for the morning prayer to lining up to get Eidi from the elders, this holiday brings back a wave of memories.

If you’re an expat and are away from home this Eid, you’re sure to relate to this. Here are 8 things every Muslim expat, like you, must be missing this Eid:

Shopping for Eid:

It was not just shopping for the feast. There was a list of gifts for family, friends, neighbours — absolutely no one was missed. And let’s admit it, watching mom turn into a spendthrift was pure joy. And you never understood why was the shopping put off until the last minute. But guess that’s what made the excitement unparalleled.

Tell us about you’re the funny things that happened with you during Eid shopping.

The Eid Prayer:

That morning usually started with mom shouting at you to wake up and get ready for the Eid prayer. Come on, you know you secretly love Eid Mubarak-ing the neighbourhood folks at your local masjid and spotting another guy dozing off during the mullah’s sermon was next to finding solidarity. You thought you wouldn’t miss it for the world, right?

The Eid Outfit:

The aim was to out-dress everyone with the most killer outfit. Be it the snooty cousin, the stylish neighbour or your gang of girls, they were all competition. And let’s admit it, the compliments were the trophy.

Share a picture of your best Eid look in a comment below.

The elaborate, delicious, gluttony-evoking Eid Feast:

Yes, that’s the main highlight of the festival. No other time of the year could you gorge on all the delicious food and sweet treats you can lay your hands on and it would be perfectly acceptable. After all, it’s not called Sweet Eid for no reason!

Eidi …. We love Gifts:

The next best thing about Eid after the elaborate feast. We have all had our secret Eidi wishlists and had that one aunt who always, always got us just what we wanted. And yes, waiting to open the gifts was just too much to ask for!

What’s was the best Eidi you ever got? Tell us in the comment section below.

Zakat-al-Fitr:

This one time when we didn’t mind parting with things we love.

Growing up we have been told of the significance of donation during the month of Ramadan as well as on the day of Eid. But doing it ourselves was just joy un-paralleled!

The endless family get-togethers:

As much Eid is about the delicious food and receiving gifts, it’s about the family get-togethers, festivities, chit-chats and oodles of love flowing your way. Are you tearing up?

The Real Eid party:

One part of Eid was the family time, the feasting and greeting. The other and our favourite part were hanging out with friends and cousins late at night. That’s one day with no curfew at home.

What did you do during your Eid after parties?

Instead, here you are watching Shan Masala’s 2015 Ramadan ad for the nth time and thinking “DAMN THEY KNOW HOW I FEEL”.

But distance should not come in the way of celebration. While you’re sure to use Skype to be part of the celebration back home, there’s another way make sure your love reaches the ones who miss you dearly.

InstaReM, an overseas money remittance service enables expats to transfer money to their loved ones across the globe at great FX rates, next to nil commission and within 1 or 2 business days. And that’s just a few of the many benefits that InstaReM provides.

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