Eid al-Fitr is a very important date in the Islamic calendar. It marks the end of a month of fasting, in which Muslims all over the world take part. While exact timings depend on sightings of the moon, Eid al-Fitr is likely to happen this year on 21 April. It is a time to recognise friends, family and faith. Like many such events, food and togetherness feature highly as a form of celebration.
So, whether you have Muslim residents in your care home or not, the festival of Eid al-Fitr offers a fantastic reason to celebrate together, share gifts and enjoy some traditional food and fun. It can be a wonderful way of sharing different cultures, discussing faith and bringing people of different backgrounds together. Here are some ideas.
Themed lunch
As Eid al-Fitr is about strengthening ties with our friends and family, a great way to do this is to invite guests to a special themed lunch. Serve traditional foods with Islamic origins, such as samosas, lentil dahl, chapatis, chicken saag or beef bhuna. Don’t forget to include plenty for vegetarians too. Sweet treats are also very popular at this time of year, with options including baklava, stuffed dates, kheer, sugar cookies and lemon and rose Turkish delight. There are a huge number of recipes and other ideas online, plus you can ask your Muslim residents, staff and visitors what they like to eat and drink at Eid al-Fitr.
Reflections and prayers
Traditionally, Eid al-Fitr is marked by communal prayers called Salat al-Eid being spoken in mosques, as well as during visits to friends and families’ homes. If you have links with a local mosque, you could invite someone to come along to your care home to lead a prayer session for your residents. You could print out the words for people to read along, or ask people to write their own reflections and prayers of thanksgiving to share afterwards. A key part of these prayers is asking for help to support those in need. You could consider inviting people to give donations to a local charity as part of this time of sharing and remembrance.
Decorations
Many Muslim households like to decorate their homes for Eid al-Fitr, with brightly coloured garlands, ornaments, lanterns and balloons. You can do the same in your care home, with decorations easily available online. Again, ask any residents or staff who mark Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr what decorations they would like to see – or perhaps talk about the decorations they used to hang up at home. You could even set up a craft session for people to make their own decorations with ribbons, balloons and streamers, or draw or paint some greetings cards to send and put on display.
Entertainments
People often wear new clothes for Eid al-Fitr, so encourage residents to dress up in their best outfit for a day of celebration. Many people also like to decorate their hands with henna – could you find a local artist who would be willing to come and paint residents’ hands? Some people like to exchange gifts too, so find out if any of your residents would like to give anything to anyone from the care home’s community, or need help choosing presents for friends and family. You could arrange an afternoon of reminiscing for those who would like to look back on Eid al-Fitr celebrations of previous years.
Supporting residents during Ramadan
Eid al-Fitr comes at the end of Ramadan, a month-long period of time when many Muslims fast between the hours of sunrise and sunset. Not everyone fasts, with younger children and vulnerable older people often excused from the obligation for reasons of health and wellbeing. So, not all of your Muslim care home residents will necessarily fast.
If you do have those who wish to, however, or staff members, there is plenty you can do to support them. Arrange physical activities earlier in the day when they may have more energy. Be flexible and considerate to people observing the fast and remember that they may be feeling more emotional than usual. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and take an interest if it is something that you do not know much about.
