Eid is everybody’s favorite part of the year. We wear new clothes, gather in the congregation to offer special Eid prayers, have lots of amazing food, and visit our friends and family to convey greetings. With these kind of festivities, we can even enhance the mood through gift-giving this Eid.
Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are the only two celebrations that are prescribed to Muslims. That means that Eid to us is birthdays, anniversaries, and all the other common gift-giving holidays bundled up in one. Gift-giving traditions for Eid al-Fitr around the world are pretty universal, and most cultures practice this tradition as a way of giving during this blessed holiday. After all the words “Eid Mubarak” means blessed holiday.
Here’s a list of some of the traditional and modern Eid gifts that you may give or receive. Maybe you can even get a few ideas if you’re wondering what to get your family or friends.
Visit our Ramadan 2024 page for more Ramadan and Eid content!
Image Credit: Allef Vinicius on Unsplash
Money! Known to many as ‘Eidi’, this is the most common world gift-giving custom for Eid, and some of the fondest memories most of us have from the Eid celebrations of our childhoods. No matter how old you are, we will always be looking forward to visiting all of our relatives, neighbors, and friends, so we can collect that Eidi. We even used to have special purses just to collect Eid money.
At the end of the day, we would count our bounties; who received how much, which uncle was the most generous, and who made the largest collection were the hottest topics on the days that followed.
Giving clothes as Eid gifts is another pretty common concept, even though the styles and designs of the clothing may differ from place to place. In India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and other south-Asian countries, the women wear exotic salwars and anarkalis that are adorned with beads and lots of jewelry.
In Saudi Arabia, men wear the traditional thobe or thawb. Women in Malaysia wear the traditional baju kurung, while their men wear baju melayu. Nevertheless, a scarf or shawl is universally a safe bet when it comes to gifting clothes for Muslim women, and the same can be said for a nice t-shirt for men. This year, you could easily place your orders for clothes online and have them delivered directly to your loved ones. It's convenient, isn't it?
Young Muslims who are considered too old to be given Eidi or toys, often receive accessories like jewelry, watches, perfume, and handbags. This could be a great gift idea for Eid, particularly with a wide variety of online accessories stores and items to choose from. Likewise, you could easily have it delivered directly to your loved ones.
Image Credit: Dmitry Mashkin on Unsplash
Food plays a major role in Eid al-Fitr traditions around the world, no matter where you’re from. The Eid feast is one of the most looked forward to parts of Eid. Apart from that, food is also a really great Eid gift that many people give. People often prepare homemade sweets and snacks to serve guests, or they buy chocolates, dried fruit, and other food that they give out to friends, family, and neighbors. Inviting close friends and family for lunch or dinner at people’s houses is also another Eid al-Fitr tradition around the world.
Time is not on your side? You could still place orders for food through applications like GrabFood and food panda, to name a few. Simply fill in their address and it will be delivered directly to their doorstep. If your grandparents are living further away from you, you can simply have food delivered over to their place and even attach a customized message for them. I'm sure they'll love this gift!
A brand-new Quran or a volume of hadith books given as Eid gifts are more valuable than any other presents that anyone could give or receive; one that will reap benefits for both parties long after the celebrations have died down. Although these are more commonly given as gifts to elder members of the family, children will also benefit from them greatly. For instance, children have usually presented brand new Qurans as a prize for fasting, or for being good Muslims throughout Ramadan.
Islamic books like stories of prophets and stories with Islamic morals are really great for gift-giving during Eid. Children are naturally curious and are fond of stories. Cultivating their minds with beneficial stories like these will help them grow up as better Muslims, who are more knowledgeable of their religion. You could easily purchase some of these online and they will have them delivered to your residence.
Image Credit: fhwrdh on flickr
This is an unconventional Eid gift, but it could be something that touches lives that really deserve it. Some people prefer to teach their young ones a lesson about how rewarding charity is instead of buying them expensive gifts. Some may take their children to orphanages or even to homes of less fortunate neighbors, and having these children hand these gifts out themselves will show them how an act of kindness can impact another person’s life.
There are also other ways of donating to charity through various online platforms that raise funds for the less fortunate. Some of the proceeds go to underprivileged children or families, depending on their cause. One could encourage their children to donate a part of their lunch money or savings as a way to hand "gifts" to the underprivileged, as an act of kindness itself is a form of a gift.
Toys are another major player in gift-giving for Eid, as children are mostly the ones that receive gifts during Eid. Sure, giving them money enables them to buy what they want. But more often than not, although small children love the thrill of getting Eidi, they don’t know what to do with it afterward. So, getting them a toy is a pretty safe bet, and the adults can make sure to pick something that’ll be educational and fun for them. Nowadays, there are many educational toys online that you could conveniently get. You could even get them toys that they can share and play together with their siblings.
With the rise of technology, I’d say that giving electronics as Eid gifts is a fairly more recent world gift-giving custom. But nevertheless, it is quite popular, and phones, tablets, laptops, and other fancy gadgets are taking over more traditional clothes and toys as the most popular Eid gifts.
You could get the latest gadgets for your grandparents or parents who live further away from you. Learning from the previous pandemic, technology plays an important role in ensuring everyone stays connected. By getting them gadgets, like Tablets or Laptops, they could make use of it to spend more time with other family members or friends living apart. So, while you might not be going back to your home town, it is no excuse for you to not be making a simple call!
Image Credit: Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Time is the ultimate gift! No matter how many expensive or fancy gadgets and gifts you get your family, the thing that they will cherish and remember the most is the time you spend together. Spending time with friends and family is the most precious Eid gift and this can be seen through the Eid traditions and customs from all around the world. All of them would get together, visit each other, and share this holy day with the most important people around us.
If traveling far is still not a possible option, be it due to the time crunch, unfinished work, or even travel costs, we could still spend time with them virtually through online platforms like Skype or Zoom. You could share stories or play games online with your family and friends. Be sure to spend time with your family and friends on Eid!
