Guests in winter gear at the 2008 Eid-ul-Adha festival
As'salamualaikum all,
I thought I would share some insight on what I thought of the MAC’s Eid-Ul-Adha 2008 at the Exhibition Place…
First, it’s important to note that MAC follows ISNA’s scientific calculation of the moon sighting to determine Eid. If you follow the Hilal committee, your Eid may differ. For MAC, this year’s Eid is Sunday, September 20, 2009.
Eid is always a joyous occasion: a time to celebrate, share and get together. With the scale of MAC’s Eid you really do get the feeling that it is a special day. The venue shows strength in numbers. There is a strong feeling that you are part of a large and diverse community.
The Eid Salaah is fairly traditional to what you’d find at your local masjid and the khutbah is good, if you have the attention span and devotion to listen. The only thing is though that you should not be in a rush to get back home. Apparently, the Salaah is delayed every year to accommodate for stragglers and late-comers.
After the Salaah is complete, the organizers arrange for a prominent MP or MPP to give a small spiel about being Canadian and what Muslims mean to Canada. Make of this what you will: it may not be interesting and it may not be genuine, but at least someone came out.
I only took a quick glance at the Eid bazaar that day and I didn’t see anything too interesting. I say this as a brother. I’m sure a sister would say otherwise (“OMG! There are so many, different colourful hijabs! I’ll take them all!”). There are also political and social groups set up in the bazaar area for anybody who wants to network with other meaningful organizations.
I thought I would share some insight on what I thought of the MAC’s Eid-Ul-Adha 2008 at the Exhibition Place…
First, it’s important to note that MAC follows ISNA’s scientific calculation of the moon sighting to determine Eid. If you follow the Hilal committee, your Eid may differ. For MAC, this year’s Eid is Sunday, September 20, 2009.
Eid is always a joyous occasion: a time to celebrate, share and get together. With the scale of MAC’s Eid you really do get the feeling that it is a special day. The venue shows strength in numbers. There is a strong feeling that you are part of a large and diverse community.
The Eid Salaah is fairly traditional to what you’d find at your local masjid and the khutbah is good, if you have the attention span and devotion to listen. The only thing is though that you should not be in a rush to get back home. Apparently, the Salaah is delayed every year to accommodate for stragglers and late-comers.
After the Salaah is complete, the organizers arrange for a prominent MP or MPP to give a small spiel about being Canadian and what Muslims mean to Canada. Make of this what you will: it may not be interesting and it may not be genuine, but at least someone came out.
I only took a quick glance at the Eid bazaar that day and I didn’t see anything too interesting. I say this as a brother. I’m sure a sister would say otherwise (“OMG! There are so many, different colourful hijabs! I’ll take them all!”). There are also political and social groups set up in the bazaar area for anybody who wants to network with other meaningful organizations.
There is no rest for the weary: political activitsts and charities take no time off to spread their message and set up shot in the bazaar area
The carnival for Eid-Ul-Adha consisted of bouncy castles, merry-go-rounds and play activities that I am sure most kids under 10 would enjoy. If you have young ones at home this is sure to get them excited.
In short, the individual attractions can be a bit stale and you may not want to spend an entire day here unless you're serious about listening to the khutbahs. That said, I would suggest attending MAC’s Eid with your family if the day is about getting together and sharing the warmth of the joyous day with loved ones.
In short, the individual attractions can be a bit stale and you may not want to spend an entire day here unless you're serious about listening to the khutbahs. That said, I would suggest attending MAC’s Eid with your family if the day is about getting together and sharing the warmth of the joyous day with loved ones.
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