Eid in Gaza: Brought to You by…the Tunnels

By Hanitizer

Aside from the siege, and the unique political situation in the Strip, Gaza is just like the rest of the Muslim world. Gazans celebrate the holidays just like the rest of the Muslim and Arab word. Ten days prior to the Eid, the Muslim holiday following Ramadan one starts to see more activity in the markets. The first items that indicate the arrival of the Eid is the appearance of pickled and sun dried salty fish (fiseekh). This type of fish makes you so thirsty that it’s all banned in Ramadan. Clothing vendors start exhibiting all sorts of new garments as people tend to buy new outfits to welcome the holiday. Thanks to the tunnels Gazans can find many goods including clothes as Israelis do not include clothes as humanitarian good. For their mediocre quality, clothes are a lot more expensive in Gaza than the rest of Palestine.

A week prior to the Eid, Gaza’s vendors start brining out the good stuff: candy, dates cookies, Turkish delight and nuts. Part of the Eid is visiting families and friends who compete in hospitality—the competition really is on your waste line. Most of those produces are made locally, still more expensive however than prior the siege. Many homes start baking their own date cookies, ladies of Gaza start forming baking teams. Banks start getting crowded where people start getting paid or taking out cash to meet the needs of the holiday because part of the Eid in some Muslim countries is to make money gifts to kids and women. As a result, change becomes hard to come by as people start holding on to it, something I despise. Kitchen ware stores start getting busier, as demand on cups, classes and plates skyrockets as homemakers work hard to impress expected guests with their flashy ware. Demand for cleaning supplies also surges, as most homes make sure that every corner of their home sparking clean.

Part of the Muslim holiday, well off people discreetly donate to the poor they know, some give to a social group that has better knowledge on who is in need. Some needy people kindly start reminding people of their need. I did notice this year a public announcement telling people tom make sure their donations do not fall in the wrong hands like terrorists.

Because the Muslim calendar is a lunar one, one finds out the day of the actual holiday the night before. Mosques start making announcement via their microphones congratulating the people in Gaza and wishing them a happy Eid. Since this is Gaza, political groups rent vans place gigantic speakers on top and wander the streets of towns and villages wishing them a great holiday season. Others political factions use graffiti to communicate messages of best wishes. In Gaza, the Islamic groups are better at this game as they control the mosque and are better organized than the secular ones. Barbershops get really busy where men and boys head there to shave, trim and cut their hair. If you can get a barber to take a day of on that eve of the Eid, you can do anything.

On the actual day of the Eid—it is three day holiday. People start visiting with each other and kissing in public, they even kiss total strangers. This is a holiday for the children and women. The kids receive a lot of cash gifts and they use it to buy whatever items on their wish list. Since cash is King, Santa Clause got nothing on those kids. They buy all sorts of toys and treats. Perhaps the most popular toy this season is a plastic gun made in China; this gun has a laser pointer on its front and shorts tiny plastic balls. This is a proof that Palestinians are buying weapons form the Chinese. Other winners of this holiday are cab drivers, restaurants, sellers of toys, and anyone that runs a business geared toward women. Women make plans all year long for what they will do with their cash gifts. They usually use it to pay off debits on goods they already have bought or save up to buy a piece of jewelry. At the end of the day, you have eaten tons of treats and drank even more, making it perfect for stomach trouble. That’s why pharmacies open on the day of the Eid and stock up on stomach trouble medicine.

On a serious note, many Muslim homes in Gaza open a small funeral in the early morning for those who have passed away since the last Eid. Gaza had many of those this time due to the rather large number of victims of the Israeli offensive on Gaza.