By Hasan Kamoonpuri — MUSCAT — With Eid al Fitr round the corner and the successful culmination of Ramadhan fasting, a great sense of excitement and joy rents the air. Homes, streets, parks, malls, mosques and hotels have been spruced up with flowers, plants, perfumes and designer lights for the three-day Eid celebrations.
Thousands of families have been thronging markets across the Sultanate for the past few days — buying new clothes, sweets, greeting cards and gift items for their near and dear ones. Gardens, beachfronts, amusement parks and other important public places have been cleaned as these places will be bustling with activity during the holidays.
The Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, responsible for maintaining public hygiene, has intensified inspection of food outlets and shops to provide safe products and ensure safety of public health. The Public Authority for Consumer Protection has also stepped up inspection of market activities to ensure stability of prices.
Muscat Municipality is making elaborate arrangements to ensure that all public utilities such as parks, beaches, tourist spots, roads and historical sites are clean and well decorated. The disposal of garbage from all residential areas is being carried out more regulalry.
Eid al Fitr, a three-day celebration, is a great institution that embodies Islam’s message of love, peace, unity and security to all. Eid is also a ‘Thanksgiving Day’ because the first thing the faithful do is to assemble in a brotherly and happy environment for Eid prayers to offer their gratitude to Allah, the Exalted and Glorified, for the countless blessings that they enjoy.
Eid brings people together, builds bonds of brotherhood and provides a platform for sharing this happiness with the underprivileged sections of society by way of giving them obligatory charity before proceeding for Eid prayers. The distribution of Fitr (alms) to the poor also constitutes a major part of the Eid activities.
The last minute shoppers have also inundated markets in Ruwi, Qurum, Muttrah and Seeb. The sales of clothes and jewellery have increased as people are buying clothes for Eid as well as for the upcoming wedding season. The highest number of weddings takes place after Eid in December and January. Omanis prepare many types of halwa, home-made sweets and other special dishes for the Eid days.
In addition, before and during the Eid season, Muslims do a lot of shopping for decorating their homes. Razia, a resident of Wadi Adai says, “Eidiyah (special pocket money given to children to mark the festival) is something the children and young people look forward to eagerly”. Elders give Eidiyah money especially to grown up children who began fasting this year, successfully completed their first month of fasting and adopted fasting as a way of life.
