Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 January 2000 Issue No. 463
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

Celebrating together As the new century begins, Muslim and Coptic feasts are only one day apart. Gihan Shahine expects a flurry of festivities -- and a state of emergency

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It is easy to imagine it: Christmas Eve, 9.00pm: the bells ring, and members of Egypt's Coptic community, decked in their new clothes, flock to Christmas Mass. Following prayers, which usually last until after midnight, the worshipers go home. The luckiest will indulge in a feast of meat or fowl, which announces the beginning of Christmas, and therefore the breaking of the 45-day fast during which the Copts shun all animal products, seen as foods containing life or spirit.

Christmas Day will probably coincide with the Waqfa, the day preceding Eid Al-Fitr, when Muslims break their own month-long fast, during which they abstain from food or drink from dawn to sunset.

Eid Day, 6.00am: daylight begins to break. It is the end of Ramadan. The call to prayer pierces the horizon in glorification. Muslim families awake, have breakfast, put on their best -- ideally, new clothes bought especially for the Feast -- and rush out to catch the Eid prayers, which are part of the Sunna (tradition set down by the practice of the Prophet Mohamed). People pass the hour between dawn and Eid prayers roaming the streets in the traditional Massira (march).

During the prayers, thousands of worshipers line up in mosques and public squares. These are different from ordinary prayers: the imam (prayer leader) calls "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) seven times in the first rak'a (sequence of positions during prayer) and five in the second, which the congregation repeats after him each time. After the prayers, the imam delivers a short sermon. The topic is usually the rewards of fasting, Zakat Al-Fitr (alms for the poor, distributed after the fast is broken), and the importance of relatives and friends.

For both Muslims and Christians, prayers are an integral part of feast celebrations. "I can't feel the true spirit of the Eid without joining in the prayers," says Rania Ahmed. "It's on that day that good Muslims are rewarded by God for having fasted and prayed during Ramadan. We glorify God for helping us fast and pray and He promises us forgiveness." For 26-year-old Marcelle, "Christmas prayers have special significance. Christmas Mass is such a cheerful event: everyone feels happy and especially generous."

This year, Copts and Muslims celebrate their feasts together. The coincidence has led to a great commotion in Cairo. Everyone has been preparing for the feast since the beginning of the week. In downtown Cairo, shop windows are bright with enticing new outfits. Muslims and Christians have been buying clothes, ready-made kahk (special biscuits), or the raw materials to bake the kahk at home. The biscuits are piled high in pastry shop displays, crumbling with butter and covered with mountains of snowy powdered sugar.

But shoppers push on past the tempting morsels. There will be time later to buy a box of the sweets, wrapped in glossy paper and tied with crisp ribbon. Busy choosing a dress for her five-year-old daughter, Ghada, a teacher, explains her priorities: "Buying new clothes for the children is almost mandatory. They love it, and they can't feel happy if they're not wearing something new."

Both Muslims and Christians have kept alive the tradition of eating and giving away kahk, as well as other confectioneries like ghorayyeba and petits-fours, during the feast. Now that more women work, however, ready-made kahk are acquiring popularity. This has created a new niche in the job market: women who used to bake only for family and friends are now selling kahk, turning a feast tradition to financial profit. Even those who restrict their baking skills to their immediate circle of relatives and close acquaintances find it easier to resort to industrial methods. Samiha, a civil servant, has taken two days off from work to make her own supply of kahk, to send her neighbours and relatives as gifts. She prides herself on the fact their her kahk "taste so much better than the ready-made ones". Samiha, like many women do, usually ropes in relatives or neighbours, who all sit together to prepare a big supply. Although the process takes much time and effort, Samiha is happy she is "keeping up the fun of this tradition".

The tradition of kahk-making for the feast dates back to Pharaonic times. The tradition was adopted by the Tulunids and later the Ikhshidids. During the Fatimid era, the Caliph allocated large sums of money to bakeries at feast time. The Fatimid Caliph Al-Aziz distributed kahk himself to people before the feast.

New clothes and Eid treats, however, represent heavy financial burdens to many families. Samiha had to save for months to be able to afford the feast expenses, especially since Ramadan itself is an expensive month, requiring as it does a full meal every evening.

Religious rituals aside, Muslims and Copts celebrate in much the same way. Perhaps the only difference is the food eaten on the first day of the feast. While Copts tend to focus on meat and poultry, having gone without them for over a month, Muslims traditionally favor eating fish, especially the salt-cured fisikh, since chicken and meat, considered nutritious and filling, are eaten as often as possible during Ramadan.

After prayers at church or mosque, Muslims and Copts alike visit or receive relatives and friends, or call acquaintances to wish them a happy feast, then go out for a walk or a picnic. Some Muslims and Christians still visit the tombs of their deceased relatives and distribute special pastries to the poor there. This tradition, however, is on the decline.

Children receive the Eidiya (money given by older members of the family) in the morning and spend most of it on crackers, fireworks, toys and balloons. In middle-class areas, children might go to the club, but in poorer districts, where no picnic areas are available, makeshift swings and small funfairs are set up in a few minutes.

The Giza Zoo is one of the most popular outings during feasts. It is one of the most affordable venues in Cairo, and receives hundreds of thousands of visitors on feast days.

This year, even larger numbers are expected during the festivities since Muslims and Copts will be celebrating together. But Mustafa Awad, general supervisor of the Giza Zoo, explains that measures have already been taken to protect the animals from the onslaught. Crackers and fireworks will be prohibited inside the grounds. Caterers have been asked to sell food at lower prices, and day trips are being organised for orphanages and retirement homes, according to Awad.

Cinemas are also preparing for the feast, especially after the traditional Ramadan doldrums, during which many theatres close and make repairs in anticipation of the high season. New releases are already scheduled, and Adel Imam is starring in another feast special, Hello America.

Since larger number of picknickers are expected this year at the Pyramids and in every green space available in and around the capital, a state of emergency has been declared nationwide. Hospitals, fire brigades, traffic officers and police stations will all be on alert. Shops and supermarkets will stay open late into the night; and dress-makers, domestic personnel and hair-dressers will have to work extra hours to meet their customers' demands. Extra supplies of flour, margarine and sugar have been laid up, and government employees received their salaries earlier than usual last month . Hotels are also getting ready for a long series of weddings, since Muslims rarely marry during Ramadan and Copts are prohibited from marrying during the days of fasting.

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