On April 10th, TUJ LEAD and the Muslim Students Association came together to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. Eid marks the end of Ramadan, a month when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset with some exceptions. It is a holy month that brings one closer to God as they devote themselves to prayer, charity, and self-discipline.

This celebration kicked off with music and food. The food included dates, chicken nuggets, samosas, Indian chai, and various Indian and Turkish desserts. Along with these, students could experience getting henna tattoos, also called mehndi, a beautiful temporary body art using henna dye.

While students ate and celebrated together, the Muslim Students Association (MSA) members presented a slideshow all about Eid. Using this slideshow, Muslim students shared with fellow owls the significance of Eid and Ramadan, as well as the core teachings of their religion. We learned that this celebration is enjoyed across various traditions and cultures. Food is a big part of this celebration around the world and each country and culture has their own signature dish that they eat on Eid. Balkan and Turkish families have baklava, a dessert that students had the opportunity to try at the event. Each country’s dish varies with Morocco having briouat, Palestine with knafeh, and Somalia with cambaabur. Along with food, another big part of the celebration is fashion. It is tradition on Eid for those who celebrate it to wear a new outfit. We saw amazing outfits by our MSA members, and they shared what some of the traditional outfits are from countries like Ghana, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

The night finished with a Kahoot game, quizzing the students on various aspects of the Muslim religion and Eid. Students competed as groups, and cheers could be heard as groups got questions right. The game ended with the top three groups being awarded prizes.

Ramadan and Eid may be over, but we here at TUJ LEAD will continue to celebrate our Muslim students and encourage fellow TUJ students to learn about and celebrate our diverse community here at TUJ. Eid Mubarak! Blessed Eid!