2024-04-07 07:41:05
ThatEid-ul-Fitr is a day of rejoicing in the Muslim world after the days of almsgiving. In different parts of the world, this day, when believers share joy by bonding with family, sharing sweets and offering communal prayers, has different aspects. It is the beauty of the universal manifestation of Islam that it is one in essence yet reflected in many guises.
Famous American scholar Dr. Umar Farooq Abdullah is watching. Eid in Germany, celebrated by Muslims from different cultural backgrounds who have migrated from different countries, also has the story of this palm to tell.
The name Zucker Fest
Eidul Fitr is called a small festival in our country. Germans and here in schools call Eid al-Fitr as Sukar Fest. No name of Facebook founder is associated with it. The German word zucker means sugar. On Eid and the two days following it, the word Sukker fest refers to when the believers, especially children, visit family and others, sipping and pouring sweets (baklava, various types of Arabic-Turkish halvah) to each other. The prevailing view is that the name came to Germany from the Turkish term şakkar vairami (sweet festival). The term also underlines the strong Turkish influence on Germany’s Muslim population. Behind this is the flow of Turkish emigration from Turkey to Germany since the 1960s.
A feast filled with palma
Despite the strong Turkish influence, the German festival is also a release of Palma. Germany has Muslim communities from Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Morocco and various southern African countries. If you look at the role of those who participate in the festive prayer in any church, you can see the burning of the palm above. The mosques are a sight to behold, with colorful Indonesian batik shirts and hats, different African long robes in bold colors, South Asian dresses in short pajamas, and Arabic kantooras. Swaffs also include newly arrived Muslims of white descent.
In a sense, the festival in Germany is a celebration of the diaspora. Germany is a secular country with a Christian cultural heritage. It is a place where there are no holidays for Muslim special days in the national calendar. Therefore, if the festival is not on a Saturday or Sunday, most people will have work on the festival day. Those who cannot take leave will go to work after prayer or in the afternoon. All day-long celebrations will take place in the next weekend.
Sweet-dispensing flowers
Visiting the graves of loved ones is as important as Eid prayers for the Arab-Turkish communities. The German word for cemetery is Friedhof. Separate Muslim cemeteries are rare here, but in modern cemeteries, separate sections for Muslims are seen. People used to visit the grave on the festival day. Many people can be seen waiting for visitors with boxes full of sweets and karaka in front of the freedoughs. They are offering sweets and prayers for their deceased loved ones.
Graveyards are called church forests in our country. It would be more appropriate to call it Poongavanam here. No large trees or plants are found above the graves. The graveyards here are green gardens. Flowers and colored lamps can be seen above the grave.
These graveyards are more peaceful places than Bhaipad. Since burials are often private ceremonies attended only by family members, more people visit the Friedhofs here on the feast day. That is why people wait at these places with sweet packets on that day, hoping for the prayers of maximum people.
The festival in these places is less noisy than in our country. This is a land where no bank call or takbir dhvani can be heard on loudspeakers outside mosques. Therefore, it can be said that Germany is not familiar with the sound of the festival. If you want to hear the beautiful sound of Takbir, you have to go to a few Arabic shops or barber shops. That’s when we feel that our country’s festival is really lost in Germany.
Malayali Muslims are a relatively new community in Germany. Therefore Malayalee festival is also fresh and light here. Malayalee Perunnal often ends with prayers at mosques near their residences, eating at their residences and making video calls back home. In German cities with a relatively large number of Malayalees, there will be small gatherings and children’s artistic competitions on Saturday and Sunday after the festival. We can expect Malayalee celebrations in Germany in a short time. Our sweets will also be a part of Palma’s Zuckerfest. Wishing everyone a loving Zucker Fest.
(Author Berlin Fry is a PhD scholar at the University.)
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