My father is Egyptian and my mother is from Guyana. Growing up in America, we had a blended and modified way of celebrating Eid. First, our parents had to request a day off from work and notify our schools about our absences because Eid is not a public holiday in the US. Our morning would start very early, usually around 6 am. My father would wake us all to get dressed in our best clothes. Since no one was really hungry for breakfast that early in the morning, we would make our way to the closest masjid right away. During the car ride, we would join my father to recite the Eid takbeerat. This chant, which is a declaration of faith, gives praise to Allah (s.w.t) and the oneness of God. 

While in the masjid we would continue our Eid takbeerat amongst everyone else attending the masjid, some of whom we had never even met!  It is a cool experience to see many different faces from all around the world. Soon after, we would join the Imam for a specific Eid prayer. After the prayer, everyone will get up to embrace each other saying “Eid Mubarak” regardless of if you know the person or not. The rest of the day consists of having breakfast right there at the masjid followed by preparation and having dinner at our home where we would invite family and friends. My favorite part about Eid was the money my father would give us every year which was something we all looked forward to eagerly. This is how we celebrated Eid in the US with an Egyptian father and a Guyanese mother.

Composed by Filiz Arslan

Amerika’dan Bayram Kutlaması “Eid Mubarak”
Eid Celebrations Around the World From Turkey to the United States of America