Comparison of Eid Celebrations in Kenya and United States

Eid is a special holiday where Muslims all around the world celebrate. However, I have discovered several different styles of celebrating Eid. We all celebrate the same occasion; it just happens to be in different ways. Eid is celebrated right after the thirty days of fasting in the month of Ramadhan. Believers of Islam are ordered by God to celebrate Eid in the Quran. I was lucky enough to have witnessed Eid in different locations with my naked eyes. I lived in the U.S ever since I was born and traveled to Kenya at about the age of nine years and stayed there till I was fourteen. I was able to observe these two countries carefully in terms of how they celebrate the Eid occasion differently.

On eid occasions, after praying, Muslims eat food to satisfy their hunger. It's usually their first full meal after fasting the whole month of Ramadhan. Those who celebrate this holiday go out to eat and enjoy themselves while the rest of the people go about their own business. In the U.S, the complete joyfulness and happiness of celebrating Eid holidays together are missing. Celebrating with families on Eid is a religious act that is not practiced in the U.S. Muslims who live in the U.S go out to restaurants and eat meat and other varieties of food. They take the celebration lightly and do things in different ways. This is because Eid in the U.S is where people just eat and go out, they hardly gather as families and friends. In the U.S, it is easier for people to just eat food in restaurants than cooking it at home. The Eid celebration in the U.S is really different compared to Kenya because, in the U.S, people do not make fresh homemade scrumptious food. Most of the food is from fast food eat-outs and is not healthy. Muslims in the U.S often enjoy going out to recreational places after praying the congregational prayer. They go out to places like valley fair, national parks, and malls. Children are not happy unless they are taken out in such areas. To them, the holiday is about being out and having fun. I myself would always cry like a baby if I couldn't go to the amusement park on an eid day.

In the U.S, if you are in school or work, it is necessary for you to continue with your business and not take the day off because it is unusual for them to consider a holiday like that. If it happens to be Eid, one will not get a day off and will have to miss school or work. No one would want to work on a special day like that. My parents, for instance, would take their jobs off for us to celebrate the eid holiday. To sum it up, these points above show that Eid in the U.S is less about following the customs of our religion and more about going out.

In Kenya, the Eid celebration was a lot different compared to the U.S. When it was eid in Kenya, most of the people would celebrate. People would be all bubbly and happy despite their religion. Whether one is was a Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist, it didn't matter. They would all celebrate merrily. It was like everyone's holiday. The best thing about Eid in Kenya was that every school and workplace would be closed. You did not have to request to be given a day off. People in Kenya were well aware of the Eid holiday. They probably did it out of respect for their workers. Eid holiday was approved by the government of Kenya as an official holiday. It was really thoughtful of them. They usually gave about three days before their workers started working. But if it was a Muslim company or school, they could give it up to a week of rest.

In Kenya people always made sure they slaughtered for Eid. Slaughtering was considered a reward in the religion of Islam. They would make plans prior and slaughter a goat on the holiday so families and neighbors could make a meal. Family and friends would meet at homes to tell stories and play games. Without the slaughtering, it just wouldn't feel like Eid to them. It was like a festive season everyone was eager to be apart of. Slaughtering was a religious factor that they loved practicing. It would be rare to see them not doing it. Unless they couldn't afford a goat or cattle to slaughter.

Instead of going out to places on eid day, they enjoyed gathering with their family's neighbors and relatives. It was odd for me since I was used to going out on eid. The children my age showed me how they celebrated their eid. I found it really interesting. What we would do was each one of us would go to the elders with our bags and say ‘Eid Mubarak’ to them. They would broadly reply with a happy smile and give some money in return. It was something similar to Halloween instead we were not getting candies but money in return. Relatives laugh, eat, and enjoy together after a long time of being busy. The holiday in some way brings them together. Although not everyone in Kenya is Muslim, they still would have fun. This was something that stood out to me. Eid was a happy day. It is incredible how the celebration is more about spending it with your families and friends and not just going out.

In conclusion, Eid is an amazing celebration for Muslims around the world. Kenyans celebrate it more enthusiastically while in the U.S they celebrate it lightly with fewer policies to it. In Kenya, they make sure they are celebrating to the fullest. They wouldn't want to make things a mess. I’m not saying celebrating Eid in the U.S is horrible, its just that I personally enjoy celebrating Eid in Kenya more than in the U.S.