Roba Al Assi

It's quite fascinating how culture and tradition choose to highlight a given criteria in whichever way they deem appropriate. It's as if they add the finishing touches -- the red purse that makes the white dress stunning and the blue icing over the cake.

In the case of Eid, a Mulim holiday celebrated bi-annually by over a billion Muslims, the diversity in the finishing touches is amusing, especially as only 18 percent of Muslims live in the Arab world.

Having spent my childhood in a very globalised community, I have come to realise that these finishing touches are an essential part of my identity -- in this case, a Levantine Arab, as the Levant shares the same finishing touches when it comes to such wide-scale celebrations.

Eid, to the millions of people that live in the Fertile Crescent, is the sweet smell of freshly baked date-cakes called 'Ma'mool', the excitement of the crisp new clothes waiting to be worn, and the aroma of Arabic coffee hovering around the house.

The Eid routine consists of spending the three days visiting family and friends, referred to as 'Aa-yed'-ing, and being visited by them in return, each visit usually consisting of around 20 minutes. The first day is dedicated to the “family elders”, as well as a huge feast with the entire “tribe”. The two following days are dedicated to friends, loved ones, and fun family activities.

Anyone who has been to an Arab household will be aware of an Arab's need to provide tip-top hospitality, and Eid provides the perfect excuse to pamper the hoards of guests coming to 'Aa-yed'.

As a traditional practice, the women of the family start to gather to mass produce gigantic amounts of 'Ma'mool' during the week before Eid. The dates are transformed into a sweet paste, the dough is prepared into cakes that is satiated with the paste, and then each cake is carefully stamped with pretty patterns and powdered sugar. The 'Ma'mool' is then wrapped and presented to each family that comes to 'Aa-yed'. One cannot underestimate the importance of 'Ma'mool', for it turns into a criterion that measures the hospitality of each family.

The other two major components of what is served during Eid is Arabic coffee and chocolate, the latter being usually passed out as the visiting family is leaving.

In the Levant, Eid is also the season for shopping. Naturally, with all the visiting being done, people need to dress up to look specially fresh, so they usually buy new clothes or set apart special clothes for Eid. Children are given money and gifts, referred to as 'Aydeyeh', by close relatives, and there are special charities that pass out simple gifts to children in families that cannot afford to do so.

May everyone have a blessed Eid, full of loved ones, laughter, and 'Ma'moul'.