Eid, Families and Being Bored

IF YOU didn’t know it yet, we are in the middle of Eid Al-Fitr, the celebration of the end of holy month of Ramadan in which Muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset.

It’s sort of like Christmas to Christians. Families that never see each other during the rest of the year get together and eat large quantities of chocolates, cakes and other sweets. Children are spoiled rotten with gifts of toys, clothes, candy, and more plastic toys that are invariably made in China and break within hours of being torn out of their packaging.

It’s an extremely family-orientated vacation, so if you are single or gay, expect to feel left out and extremely booooored.

But I hardly see what people in Saudi Arabia have to celebrate with such gusto, given the fact that most people here hardly feel the hunger pangs of fasting during Ramadan anyways, since night is turned into day when people stay up all night gorging themselves and then sleep during much of the day. As my driver Muneer pointed out to me a few days before Eid, he had not felt the pangs of hunger and didn’t feel completely satisfied with his fasting. “In India our daily schedule doesn’t change during Ramadan, so we feel closer to God there,” he remarked.

This year my parents are in Brazil so I don’t have to meet relatives whom I don’t really care for and have to pretend to like them. What a relief!

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I saw the infamous Jollibee video in which two characters dressed as Jollibee mascots feign having sex together. It was mildly funny, but nothing that Jollibee should be upset about. In fact, it's probably great exposure for their brand.

To watch the video clip, courtesy of YouTube, click here.