Palestinians marked Eid al-Adha in the West Bank amid continued economic recession and ongoing Israeli raids and attacks
However, families have tried to hold on to their holiday traditions despite arrests, displacement and loss caused by the Israeli occupations.
Despite efforts to preserve the festive atmosphere and Eid rituals, thousands of families are marking Eid under less than joyous circumstances
However, for 51-year-old Osama al-Keishi, joy returned to his home after his eldest son, Laith al-Keishi was freed from an Israeli prison after two years.
Abu Laith owns a café in the city of Al-Bireh near Ramallah in the central West Bank. He said that the family decided to cancel all celebrations during the past two years but that everything will return this Eid as it was before.
Al-Keishi told The New Arab , "This is the first Eid after Laith's release, and the atmosphere at home will be happy, even though the situation is uncomfortable and things are unstable. But at least the family will be celebrating after God blessed us with Laith's release."
"The extended family will gather for breakfast and lunch after we stopped this tradition during the past two years, and baklava will return to the table after visitors were served only coffee," he said. "The family has inherited Eid traditions, beginning with waking up early to perform the Eid prayer, then visiting the cemetery and returning home to begin visits to relatives. After that, the family gathers for the special Eid breakfast, which mainly consists of kebdeh (liver meat), then gathers again for a special lunch consisting of mansaf."
He added, "The family will go out again on the second and third days of Eid will return after they stopped all leisure trips following Laith's arrest."
Thousands of Palestinian families in the West Bank are living a similar situation to the al-Keishi family, with their sons detained in Israeli jails.
Tens of thousands of displaced families from the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps are also living through difficult circumstance, enduring a harsh Eid when they usually celebrate.
Nihaya al-Jundi lives with her husband and 14-year-old daughter in a temporary home in the Iktaba suburb in Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, after the family was forcibly displaced from Nur Shams camp about 17 months ago.
She says that none of the Eid traditions are possible because of the bitter reality and told The New Arab , "As a displaced woman, I cannot carry out any tradition or any of the Eid rituals. Everything is postponed because the financial, social and psychological capabilities of displaced people are limited."
The priorities of the al-Jundi family have changed, as is the case for other displaced families.
The usual Eid preparations have disappeared , and no one is thinking of buying sweets, nuts or other festive food, or even Eid clothes for children .
Displaced families first think about how to pay rent, settle bills and cover high transportation costs amid a lack of income, whilemost of them having stopped working.
Nihaya explained, "I am unable to buy Eid clothes for my daughter, who is a ninth-grade student, because I have to pay 300 shekels per month for transportation, which is nearly $100."
"This is a large amount for any displaced family. My daughter understands the reality and did not ask me to buy new clothes, not only because she understands the family's financial situation but also because the environment she was used to during Eid is absent, with relatives and neighbours no longer around as families have been scattered by displacement," she added.
The Palestinian mother lamented the "absence of family gatherings", saying that she missed her six sisters, who all lived in the same camp before they were forced to leave and are now spread across different areas of Tulkarm , including the Shuweika suburb, the Iktaba suburb, the town of Deir al-Ghusoun and the Quarry area.
This dispersal is coupled with financial burdens that make visits difficult.
"The smell of kaak (Middle Eastern biscuits) and maamoul (stuffed butter cookies) has disappeared from homes because of the financial situation, and the decorations of the camp's streets have gone dark. Young people in the camp used to organise them to bring happiness to children and residents, but today everyone is displaced, and most of the alleys are destroyed," Nihaya said.
"Personally, I am not living in my home, so how can I be happy? I do not have the essentials of a home. I live in two small rooms and, for the first time in my life, I have to serve coffee in paper cups because I lost all the contents of my house," she added.
The tradition of visiting graves during Eid, especially the graves of those killed by Israel, has become a difficult task. The camp cemetery is located nearby, but people approach it cautiously
During the last Eid al-Fitr, the Israeli army intervened to prevent residents from going there, even though it is outside the camp and beyond the area that the occupation prohibits people from visiting.
The days of Eid al-Adha also coincide with preparations to welcome pilgrims returning from the Hajj.
In the days following Eid, residents begin decorating house entrances, writing messages on walls, and even printing photographs of pilgrims on large banners to express their celebration after the pilgrimage.
Families prepare supplies for receiving well-wishers, including prayer beads, dates and small prayer mats.
Abdul Karim Ayad, a historical researcher living in Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, told The New Arab that residents continue to preserve some Eid traditions despite difficult conditions and the continuing attacks by settlers and raids by the Israeli army.
He added, "These traditions were passed down to us from our grandparents. The people of Silwad are keen to hold the Eid prayer in the school courtyard in the centre of the town, where all residents gather. This gathering strengthens social ties. Whenever one person meets another in the courtyard or on the road, they greet one another and exchange Eid wishes, and sometimes this helps end disputes between people," he said. Ayad pointed out that "Eid is, at its core, a joy for children. Many fathers, regardless of their circumstances, are keen to buy new clothes for their children to bring them happiness.”
He said, “The tradition of giving Eid presents is still there, with people offering cash amounts according to their means. These are distributed to children and to female relatives such as daughters, sisters, and aunts.”
“There have been changes like children's games. In the past, children played with marbles, which are small glass balls, but games gradually shifted to plastic weapons, and perhaps this was a form of rebellion against the occupation," he added. On hospitality, Ayad confirmed that "a cup of Arabic coffee remains at the forefront of welcoming Eid well-wishers. Although many families in Silwad still prepare Eid kaak, maamoul and ghraybeh sweets at home, there is a growing tendency to buy these sweets ready-made, as sweet shops, along with some women-led projects, now save housewives time and effort.”
"Residents, especially men, continue to visit cemeteries immediately after the Eid prayer to recite Al-Fatiha for the souls of their deceased relatives. This practice has declined among women compared with the past, when many of them used to visit graves on the morning of Eid," he said. Regarding sacrificial animals, the Palestinian researcher said that "most residents of Silwad prefer to observe the Sunnah of sacrifice by slaughtering calves and cattle rather than sheep.”
He added, "This can also be applied to most residents of the West Bank, as seven people can share one sacrifice that provides a larger quantity of meat at a lower cost.”
"Residents prefer to slaughter the sacrifice on the third and fourth days of Eid because the first and second days are crowded with visits and social obligations," he concluded. Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .