Eid Mubarak – Shared Lives households celebrating this week

Mohima, a Shared Lives carer in Tower Hamlets, will be one of those celebrating later this week, alongside the two sisters she supports who are also both Muslim. Their preparations are well underway; new clothes have been purchased and a comprehensive food shop was done last weekend.

“I need at least two days to do the cooking” says Mohima.

Mohima’s family is of Bangladeshi heritage and are all now situated in the South of England. The two ladies that Mohima supports are especially excited and keep asking: ‘How long until Eid?’. The holiday is truly a family affair.

“Every year I invite all my siblings.

“All my siblings and their children, and my children and grandchildren, I’ve got three grandchildren. So, it’s a house full with everybody together”

Each sibling will bring a dish, meaning there will be no shortage of food. Mohima’s speciality is a traditional Bangladeshi fish dish, though she also has to cater for the children with her Biryani and Kebab.

The day starts with Eid prayer where hundreds from the local community will gather to mark the holiday. Weather permitting, this will take place in a local park in Tower Hamlets. Many people’s hands will be covered in henna art from the days before, an activity the children especially enjoy.

Following the prayers, Mohima and the sisters will head home and wait for Mohima’s family to arrive. Then, the feast will begin.

“The food, and gathering everybody together, this is what everyone is really looking forward to.”

In 2007, Mohima did the Hajj with her children. This is the near week long pilgrimage to Mecca that is followed by Eid al-Adha. All adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey are expected to at least once in their life. Millions complete the pilgrimage each year.

“It’s really, really hard, and really, really peaceful once you’ve done it.

“I can’t explain the feeling.”

The sisters that Mohima supports are very keen to complete the Hajj soon. Mohima is unsure they’ll be able to cope with the heat in Saudi Arabia, and laughed as she recalled a holiday they took to Turkey where the girls favourite spot wasn’t by the pool, but in their air-conditioned rooms.

“Now they are asking me to go again, so I said ‘ok, I will try to go.’”

The two sisters have completed Umrah, which is a minor Pilgrimage, to Mecca, but to complete the Hajj would be a moment of a lifetime.

Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating!