Eid holidays have enabled families, friends and community members to get closer to each other.
Many families across the country spent Eid holidays with visits to friends and organising short trips to various recreational destinations, especially in the afternoon.
“It is an excellent opportunity to get together with family members, relatives and friends and have a good time,” Khalil, a Jordanian expatriate told Gulf Times.
“Though it has been two years since the unjust blockade was imposed on Qatar, we are enjoying a great time here. We strongly feel the peaceful, prosperous and secure atmosphere of the country and things here have been better to best. Within my past almost five years in Qatar, I have seen the country improving and developing very quickly with special focus to make the lives of people easier and better across all sectors,” he said.
Qatari families get together at their majlis, where youngsters accompanied parents visiting uncles, grandparents and friends. This is considered an intrinsic tradition of Eid celebrations alongside the meals shared among the guests and hosts, often lunch or dinner. Through such occasions children and youngsters are trained on the necessary etiquette and good manners they should follow when dealing with others.
Mubarak al-Buainain, a Qatari, pointed out that such gatherings are a practical embodiment of the values of love and respect within the Qatari society, and an important means to teach new generations the importance of solidarity and preserving local traditions and values.
Many expatriate communities organise special trips during Eid holidays even though they are away from their home countries.
“In Qatar, we feel at home with the prevalent diversity, tolerance and openness of the country, all communities live here in harmony and can exercise their local traditions and enjoy their local flavours as if at home,” said Ashraf, an Arab expatriate.
“We use the Eid holidays for the community to get together, have a short cruise and organise various activities that would appeal to the community members. This enhances communication and if possible people could get help when needed,” he explained.
All such gatherings across the country drives the retail business up with almost all eateries, food outlets and supermarkets seeing a surge in demand throughout the holidays.
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