Ramadhan in France
Moroccan traditions
Our family is originally from Morocco so celebrating Ramadhan and Eid in France is a bit different, but we try and keep the traditions alive.
For me, Ramadhan is a time when everyone gets together. Family and friends travel from one city to another to spend evenings with each other – I insist on getting together! Cousins that we do not see for months are all present and we enjoy delicious Moroccan food, such as harira soup.
Prayers and generosity
After a big meal, men go to the mosque for taraweeh prayers. People who do not usually go to the mosque will make a special effort during Ramadhan. There is little space for women in our local mosque, so we usually pray at home. The family will often stay awake until very late during Ramadhan.
The feeling that you have during Ramadhan is indescribable. You feel closer to Allah, you feel that your heart is clean and you feel like you want to give more and more. People are so generous during this month.
Celebrating Eid
A few days before Eid, we make different sorts of Moroccan sweets, like shabakia and les cornes de gazelle, a sweet made from almonds.
Eid is fantastic! We wake up early and my mother is already preparing a big breakfast. The house is nicely decorated and all of the sweets are on the table. We all wear traditional Moroccan dress; men in jalabas and women in kaftans.
Everyone gets together after Eid prayers and eats a big breakfast. We then go and visit our neighbours and the tradition is to give them a plate of the sweets that you have made. At the end of the day our table is full of both Moroccan and Algerian sweets from our neighbours.
Family together
The French have a saying ““Le meilleur pour le fin” (the best is for the end) and this is true of our Eid because we save our family celebrations until last.
The house is so full of cousins, aunties and uncles that it is like having a wedding. Everyone is having fun and joking around with each other.
I am sure that Eid in Morocco is better than France because they do a lot more than us. But the French Moroccans have managed to keep their traditions, despite being so far from their country.
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