Celebrations
Muslims do not observe the main religious celebrations and festivals traditionally celebrated in New Zealand, such as:
v Easter
v Christmas
Similarly, they do not observe other traditional days, such as: New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, Guy Fawkes, Halloween, Birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day.
Rather, Islam promotes loving one's husband, wife, mother and father every day of the year and always treating these important people with respect and kindness. Gift-giving is encouraged in Islam at any time, yet is not given special emphasis or made an obligation during the Islamic religious celebrations. Muslims have their own celebrations. Of these, the two biggest are:
v 'Eid-ul-Fitr (Celebration of the End of the Fasting Month)
This celebration marks the end of the month of Ramadan, the month during which fasting is prescribed for Muslims. Traditionally, the day begins with the family having something to eat, and then attending the congregational prayers early in the morning at a specified location (such as a mosque) where they pray with other Muslims and listen to the sermon. After this, families visit one another and eat and drink at each other's homes. The poor are not forgotten on this day, and as such, obligatory charity is prescribed for every Muslim on this day, which is given to the poor and needy.
v 'Eid-ul-Adha (Celebration of Sacrifice)
This celebration signifies the end of the pilgrimage (hajj) that takes place once a year in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Like 'Eid-ul-Fitr, the day of celebration beings with an early morning congregational prayer and a short sermon at a mosque or other location. It is traditional on this day for each Muslim to sacrifice an animal (usually a goat or sheep). Often the meat of the animal will be given to friends, family and the poor.
There are also other celebrations such as the:
v 'Aqiqa (To mark the birth of a baby)
It is preferable that seven days after the birth of baby, the baby will be named, have his/her head shaved, and be circumcised. It is preferable to give the weight of the shaved hair in silver in charity. A feast (Aqeeqa) will then be held to mark the baby's birth, and usually at least one animal will be sacrificed to feed to the guests. Often Qur'an will be read and dua'a (a short prayer or supplication) made for the baby at the Aqeeqa.
v Walimah (Wedding feast)
To celebrate the marriage of a couple a Walimah (Wedding Feast) is held. Each Walimah varies according to the culture of the bride and groom in terms of what clothes are worn, when the food is served, type of dancing (if any) and so on. It is normal, however, that verses of the Qur'an will be read, speeches are made and sometimes dua'a (a short prayer or supplication) will be made for the bride and groom. Because the men and women are segregated, the women often like to dress up and make themselves look very beautiful. The Walimah is often held some time after the Nikkah (actual wedding ceremony), often months later, and tends to be a much larger celebration than the ceremony itself.
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