What are the customs of Eid al-Fitr in Dongxiang?

Customs and traditional activities of the Dongxiang people on Eid

The traditional festivals vary from one ethnic group to another. One of the important festivals of the Dongxiang people is Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Fitr begins in the second year of the Islamic Era. Eid al-Fitr is one of the three major Islamic festivals. In the month that Muslims used to call "Ramadan" in Arabic, "Ramadan" means practice, i.e., the practice of the heart, mind and body, and is also called "Ramadan". Then get into the culture of Dongxiang and learn more about the local festival of Eid al-Fitr.

September is the month of fasting in the Islamic calendar, which is why it is called Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims are not allowed to drink, eat or swear during the day. Eating at night is called "fasting." On October 1, Eid al-Fitr is celebrated as Eid al-Fitr, or "Eid al-Adha.

On Eid al-Fitr, people not only go to the mosque to gather, but also pray and mourn the dead in the morning. Neighbors greet each other as "Salam". Women fry oil, naked oil and delicacies at home and distribute them to friends and relatives as a token of respect. The festival lasts for three days and is very grand.

Before the festival, people paint their houses, clean their courtyards, streets and toilets, cut their hair and take baths, and decorate their mosques. Festive costumes are also made and festive food is prepared. Early in the morning of the festival, adult men bathe and gather at the mosque in new or clean clothes to perform a ceremony. After the ceremony, an imam leads a sweep of the graves or family members go to the graveyard to recite prayers in memory of the dead.

After that, people go to their relatives, friends and neighbors and greet each other with 'two colored eyes' and give each other incense, Nazis, oil, etc. Congratulation on the festival. Generally, middle-aged women entertain guests at home. Young couples and unmarried son-in-laws are supposed to bring gifts to their in-laws on the first and second day of the festival. Many young people also get married during the festival. On this day, wealthy Dongxiang Muslims are expected to give a certain amount of Eid al-Fitr and distribute it to poor Muslims.

Eid must be celebrated in an Islamic way. The theme of the event should be to always remember God and learn from the Prophet. Eid is not a festival of national culture and is not allowed to be reduced to local or minority entertainment. The purpose of national festivals is to seek pleasure, to rest on holidays, to exchange gifts, and to seize the opportunity to eat and drink. But the core of Dekhi must be the worship of God and the remembrance of Kisheng. Otherwise it has no business being called a dekhi, it's a pseudo dekhi.

If the purpose of strengthening faith is ruled out and the nature of Eid al-Adha is completely changed, then the pseudo-Eid al-Adha will lead Muslims to evil instead of light. This is because the pseudo-Eid al-Adha steals from God, dishonors Him and deviates from the path of the Lord. Any evil behavior is possible.