Lost Spirit

Lost Spirit  

Holidays come and go, but the memories don’t. Holiday grants people beings a break from everyday activities and refreshes them. Also, holidays are meant to be enjoyed as a poor man with a bag of gold. On this day, there is no rule that pressures people to do their daily routine such as waking up early in the morning to go to school or work, except enjoying it with a blank state of mind. Furthermore, where I’m from Eid Al-Adha is one of the biggest holidays that is celebrated by the Muslim community unlike Christmas in the United States everyone looks forward to celebrate it.  On this day, the whole Muslim community gathers at their own location or area to pray, eat, and enjoy the moment passionately. However, since I came to the United States I have completely lost my Eid spirit.

I never knew that a single holiday could be important for a single person in different ways. In my native country, Ethiopia, Eid is started by praying a prayer early in the morning. Approximately 1.5 to 2 million people all over the city crowd together at one place and pray at the national stadium, but the stadium is not big enough for people that attend for the prayer. For that reason, the streets are fully blocked before midnight, so that people can pray on the streets too. For me, it's the biggest satisfaction I get just to be with a massive group of people that are heading toward to the same objective, and with the same holiday happiness, joy, and spirit in them. However, during my first year in the United States, I pretty much thought I would have the same experience that I had back home, but sadly it was not. When I went to attend my first Eid prayer in the U.S., It left me nothing but disappointment. At the place they were no more than two hundred people. I asked other people why. Then people told me that in the U.S people rather practice the prayer at their home.

I believe that the most happiness and joy happens when family and friends get together. After the prayer that has occurred at the mosque, people start to visit their relative and friend houses. While visiting around, kids get candy and teenagers get money from the houses they visit. The owner of the houses that are being visited must provide candy for the kid, and money for the adults even though it is small amount at their own standard of living. Therefore, the more houses they visit the more candy or money they get. Grown-ups find the opportunity to get together on Eid if they don't see each other frequently despite the fact that it's only for a considerable length of time. This helps people not forget each other and keeps people in touch. Ordinarily, after my family and I complete the process of visiting around, we go back to our home and gather around all together. Then, we feast on the delicious various food that my mother made. On the other hand, my experience in the U.S was a whole lot different than that I had expected. On the exact day of the Eid holiday, I was just sitting down hoping someone will visit us or we would visit someone else, but that never happened. It was the first time in my entire life that I have spent a holiday inside a house. I'm almost certain that the vast majority of people would not want to spend a Holiday Inside their home.

Furthermore, what makes this Eid holiday special is the food. There are unique foods that are only made on that specific day. Out of those unique foods, one of is called Haris. This food takes twelve consecutive hours to be cooked fully, so most of the people cook this  the night before the holiday. To the end of cooking process when lunch time comes my family and I round up and devour out of a sizeable big plate altogether delightfully. I would say that is the most important moment of the holiday for me because family memories are made when gathered around. Unlike in The U.S, there wasn't even food that I always eat for Eid. However, the least fun experience I had in America was dining in a fancy restaurant for the holiday of Eid which tricked me to feel little bit better.

The absence of my Eid holiday spirit has made me feel anxious since I have arrived to the U.S. " Life takes you to unexpected places, but there is no place like home". Chicago is a terrific place to live, but I had underestimated the feeling of not being home and I came to the United States leaving all my family, friends, and my culture. If I have the chance to go back in time, I would have never come to the U.S in the first place. Remembering the different lifestyle between the U.S and Ethiopia makes me feel heartbroken. However, I believe that things happen for a reason. Holding that hope and wishing I would experience or bring back my Eid holiday spirit back to my life again.