Key Points
- No matter where you live or how you celebrate Ramadan and Eid, you always miss home.
- For children, the highlight of these celebrations are gifts and food.
- Community events help newcomers to regional Australia feel more at home.
Eid and Ramadan are two significant events for Muslims around the world.
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims gather with friends and family to enjoy feasts, prayers and gift-giving.
The holy month of fasting from dawn to dusk culminates in the celebration of Eid ul-Fitr, which takes place on the first day of the tenth month in the Islamic calendar, known as Shawwal.
People living in regional Australia also celebrate Ramadan and Eid in their own unique ways.
Here's a glimpse into how they spend their time during these festivities.
Dr Wafa Awais, who lives in the small town of Howlong near Albury, NSW, said celebrating Ramadan in Australia was quite different from in her home country.
Unfortunately, since the COVID-19 pandemic, she said she hadn't been able to celebrate Eid in Pakistan or in a metropolitan city of Australia.
In her experience, she said it had been relatively easy to combine caring for her children with community activities and religious obligations during Ramadan when she had lived in Melbourne, but that this had been challenging in a regional area such as Howlong.
Nevertheless, Awais said she tried to make her kids aware of the significance of Ramadan and the joyous celebrations of Eid.
She has a 12-year-old son, Muhammad Awais Siddique, who is observing the fast during Ramadan this year.
For Muhammad, the most exciting thing about Ramadan was the Iftar feast, and he eagerly anticipated the Eid prayers, sweets, and gifts, she said.
An Iftar get-together in Gippsland. Credit: Supplied by Arfa S Khan
She said she believed that no matter where you lived or how you celebrated Ramadan and Eid, you always missed home.
Khan said she organised weekly community Iftar dinners and get-togethers for Eid to combat loneliness and make people feel more at home.
The warmth and generosity of the Gippsland community had made all the difference for her and her family during their first Ramadan and Eid, she said.
She said she was overjoyed by the interactive experience and felt anything but alone.
A Gippsland community celebration. Credit: Supplied by Arfa S Khan
They invite non-Mulsims to join them to learn why Muslims observe the fast during Ramadan and the importance of the Eid celebrations to Islamic faith and culture.
This year, Khan's elder daughter, Aleena, also explained the concepts of Ramadan and Eid at her school so that her classmates would understand why she was not eating or drinking water during the day.
Ballarat resident, Samia Khanum, said she remembered her first Eid in Australia as a quiet and lonely experience since she did not know anyone in the country.
However, as she started making friends and visiting the mosque frequently, she said she became familiar with the community. She mentioned that in regional areas such as Ballarat, finding communities and activities related to one's own community took time.
Nowadays, during Eid and Ramadan, Khanum said she and and her community arranged gatherings with lots of activities for both children and adults.
During these family gatherings, they ask children simple questions to help them understand the significance of Ramadan and fasting.
Delicious food, sweets and gifts feature on the Iftar table. Credit: Supplied by Samia Khanum
She also mentioned that since they were living in Australia where Christmas was the most celebrated event, children were already familiar with the concept of decorating homes.
- Learn or make it your home page.
- .
