by Manal | May 29, 2020 | Eid Al-Fitr |
This Ramadan and Eid al Fitr was definitely a much different celebration than usual. With COVID-19 in full force, we celebrated this year in quarantine. However, we are still so blessed that we got to celebrate Eid with our immediate families in the comfort of our own home.
Our hearts go out to the many Muslims in America who are healthcare workers and didn’t get to celebrate Eid at all with their families. All throughout Ramadan, they worked under extremely dire conditions treating COVID-19 patients while also observing their obligatory fasts.
For example, Dr. Yussr Ibrahim in Portland, ME worked as an anesthesia resident in the ICU. She saw COVID-19 patients on the frontline everyday. Her shifts were from 4:30 am to 7:00 pm while observing Ramadan fasting throughout the duration of her shift.
Dr. Noveera Mirza in Detroit, Michigan worked as a pediatric resident in the emergency department seeing COVID-19 in children during Ramadan. Living alone in Michigan for her residency, she was uncertain if she’d be able to celebrate Eid with her family who lives in California.
Dr. Abdu Sharkawy from Toronto, Canada shared an emotional video about how he was unable to spend Eid at home with his kids because he was in hospital treating sick COVID-19 patients.
Many Muslim cultures strongly encourage their kids to become doctors, nurses, or other healthcare practitioners and as a result there are a lot of Muslims in the American healthcare system.
This Eid, it would be a great gesture to send them a thank you note in hospital for all their hard work, sacrifice and service. They couldn’t celebrate Eid at home but, together we can bring Eid to them in hospital! Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Print, purchase or make an Eid card. Here is a free printable coloring page designed for you, you can also purchase an Eid card from the Hello Holy Days Shop or make your own handmade card!
Step 2: Go to www.18millionthanks.com, an organization working to send thank you notes to the 18 million healthcare workers in America, for a list of hospitals accepting cards. You can also send to your local hospital but be sure to check in advance if they’re accepting mail as many hospitals are not accepting mail at this time.
Step 3: Mail out your Eid/ thank you card to the healthcare workers.
Step 4: Add the number of cards you mailed out to 18 Million Thanks “Card Counter”. (Over 12 000 thank you cards have been mailed out to healthcare workers in America so far!)
Hope you enjoy coloring this free printable with your kids and mailing out Eid cards to healthcare workers. Thank you for joining us in showing gratitude to our healthcare heroes!
If you participate in this activity and mail out our coloring page to healthcare workers, we’d love to see! Share it with us on social media by tagging @helloholydays and @18millionthanks!
by Manal | Mar 10, 2019 | Eid Al-Fitr |
One of the interesting things about Islamic holidays is that they follow a fully lunar calendar. This means that, through the course of some 40 years, we can experience Muslim holidays in all 4 different seasons. With Ramadan transitioning out of summer and into spring, embrace the season while you can and make some Ramadan Drummer seashells! It makes a lovely kid’s craft and keepsake of when Ramadan took place in the summers! Collect seashells with the kids next you’re at the beach – or pick up a bag from your local arts and crafts supplies store to make this seasonal craft!
Materials
- Seashells
- Craft paint, in purple, brown, black, white, pink (depending on what skin color you’d like to make for your drummers)
- Paintbrush
- Smallest size of googly eyes
- White glue
- Red gel pen that can work on enamel. Sakura Decorese from Jet Pens is used here.
- Yellow embroidery thread
- Yellow bead
- Scissors
Steps
1. Paint the Ramadan drummer’s face to your desired skin tone (or leave the seashell it’s natural color, if you like.)
2. Paint the Ramadan Drummer’s purple hat.
3. Next, paint the Ramadan Drummer’s brown beard.
4. Add a small round nose with paint. Glue eyes and add a smile.
7. String a bead onto a small piece of embroidery thread; tie a knot on one end to keep the bead in place. Glue the other end of the embroidery thread to the back of the seashell. This will be the tassel on the Ramadan Drummer’s hat. You’re all done!
*Please note the fictional Ramadan Drummer used as a North American holiday character is the intellectual property and trademark of Manal Aman, Hello Holy Days! and may require license for commercial use.
Did you make this DIY of ours? We’d love to see it! Share with us on Instagram or Facebook @helloholydays.
If you make this DIY and share photos of your version on your own blog, please be sure to include a link back to this page as your source of inspiration and tag @helloholydays on all social media.
by Manal | Jun 22, 2018 | Eid Al-Fitr |
Every year for Eid al Fitr, my family hosts an open house party. For this year’s party, I decided to make some DIY paper lantern favor boxes for our guests. I filled each one with cookies from one of my favorite local bakeries. I’m really glad I picked up the cookies instead of baking at home because with the long nights of Ramadan, preparations for Eid al Fitr can get really hectic.
The great thing about this paper lanterns template is that you don’t have to use it just for favor boxes. You can also make these paper lanterns as lanterns by placing battery operated candles inside. Due to their small, personalized size, they’re best suited for a table or mantle.
These paper lantern favor boxes are purple and gold for the colors of Ramadan/ Eid al Fitr but this is also a great craft template for wedding season – or any other holiday really! The colors can be customized to any theme by simply changing up the paper!
Materials
Steps
- Download and print the template onto purple cardstock paper. Cut out template, including windows.
- Use a bone folder to crease the template and fold the tabs. (A bone folder is optional but results in much stronger and cleaner folds. The cleaner your template is folded, the better the lantern will sit.)
- For solid colored purple cardstock, use a decorative punch such as a punch all over the page punch to make a design on the top portion of the lantern. This step can be skipped if using patterned purple cardstock as the design of the punch and the design of the paper will likely get muddled.
- Cut out rectangles of yellow cellophane to cover the lantern’s windows. Use a glue stick to secure the cellophane to the lantern template. (Tip: to speed up this process, fold the cellophane and cut multiple rectangles at once. Alternatively, hot glue only the side tabs of the lantern template, not the base, then cut out one long sheet of cellophane and glue to all the windows at once.)
- While the glue stick dries, use a small hole punch to make holes at the top of the lantern. (Tip: fold the template and then punch so your holes are aligned.)
- Use a hot glue gun to assemble the lantern.
- Thread twine through the holes working your way around in a circle. Pull the twine taut and the lantern should come together. Fill the lantern and tie off the twine completely. Adjust any flaps of the lantern if needed. (If filling the lantern with baked goods, like cookies, be sure to line the lantern with parchment paper first to avoid grease stains on your paper lantern.)
When choosing favors, please keep in mind these lanterns are paper and cannot hold heavy items. If filling with battery operated luminaries or cookies, please remember to hold the lantern from the bottom when carrying for support, not just from the top.
Did you make this DIY of ours? We’d love to see it! Share with us on Instagram or Facebook @helloholydays.
If you make this DIY and share photos of your version on your own blog, please be sure to include a link back to this page as your source of inspiration and tag @helloholydays on all social media.
All Hello Holy Days! ideas and templates are for personal use only. Please do not create projects from Hello Holy Days for the purpose of selling them.
by Manal | Jun 4, 2018 | Eid Al-Fitr |
My Ramadan yogurt bark recipe is a great healthy treat for kiddos during Ramadan and for Eid al Fitr too. Made with probiotic packed blueberry yogurt, fruit cut in the shape of moons/ stars and an added sprinkling of oats, this recipe will be sure to please even the pickiest of eater. Plus, kids will get a real kick out of the purple blueberry “sky” dotted with white crescent moons and yellow stars. This is a treat that can really help tell the story of Ramadan and it’s nighttime traditions! (Read more about the colours of Ramadan here.)
If you’re short on time and don’t have time to freeze this recipe to make a yogurt bark, you can also serve blueberry yogurt in a bowl with fruit moons and stars arranged on top with some oats. Since I’ve opted for a healthy version of this recipe, I’ve stuck only to yogurt, fruits and oats but you can also customize with other toppings such as chocolate and sprinkles as well. What purple, yellow and white foods would you like to put on your Ramadan yogurt bark?
Ramadan Yogurt Bark Recipe
Ingredients
- Gelatine-free blueberry yogurt (I’m using Iogo Probio).
- Canary melon (also called winter melon) or other fruit that is is white on the side such as pears or apples
- Mangos or other fruit that is yellow on the inside such as pineapple, papaya, cantaloupe or peaches
- Toppings of your choice (I’m using apple-cinnamon oats)
Steps
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cut the winter melon and mango into slices about 1/4″ thick. (To do this for the mango, I like to cut the front and back fleshy part of the mango into three “steaks” for a total of 6 “steaks” from one mango.)
- Use small moon and star cookie cutters to cut white moons from the winter melon and yellow stars from the mango. I used two different sizes of the star cookie cutter for variety. (I used this mini cutter set by the Sweetshop which I purchased at Michael’s.)
- On your baking sheet lined with parchment paper, dollop spoonfuls of the blueberry yogurt and spread with the back of the spoon.
- Add your toppings to the yogurt and freeze till set. The yogurt should easily peel off from the parchment paper once it’s set. This is what the yogurt looks like once’s it removed from the freezer.
- Break into pieces and serve immediately.
by Manal | May 21, 2018 | Eid Al-Fitr |
These Ramadan foam lanterns are a great craft for children ages 3+. The craft is easy to set up and kids will have a ton of fun customizing their own purple and yellow lanterns for Ramadan! Whether you do this craft at home or in a classroom (for educators looking to teach about different holidays) this craft is sure to be a hit with the kids.
Depending on the age of the children you’re working with, you might want to prep the craft before having the kids join in. For small children, I recommend cutting the foam lantern shape in advance and hot gluing the pipe cleaner handle in place as well. (Having the handle on there will help small children easily visualize the lantern.)
I also recommend cutting the window pane shape in advance for small children; cutting out strips of ribbon in advance is also helpful for small kids but not necessary as you might want them to practice their scissor skills.
Older children might like to do the craft by themselves from start to finish and may even like to add special touches like glitter glue to customize their lanterns.
For decorating, I wanted the craft to be inviting so I laid out foam sticker shapes and ribbon in a compartmentalized tray. The pack of foam stickers was multicoloured but I sorted out the purple, yellow, blue and pink shapes and placed them in individual compartments on the tray. (More on the significance of why these particulars colours are being used for Ramadan here.) In the centre of the tray, I placed glue, scissors and three different types of ribbon (purple, yellow and white.)
This craft can also be taken to go – for example take it with you to the mosque to keep kids busy during taraweeh prayers. Instead of a tray, stick the lantern template, window pane shape, foam stickers, ribbon and glue dots into a ziplock bag. (Glue dots will be a lot less messy than regular white glue when taking this craft on the go.) Kids can easily keep busy by decorating the lantern with all the materials in their ziplock bag.
Materials
- Sheet of purple foam
- Sheet of yellow foam
- Pack of foam sticker shapes (be sure the pack has purple and yellow shapes. I purchased mine at Michael’s but similar packs can be purchased online as well.)
- Pipe cleaners, purple and yellow
- Ribbon, assorted types (I used purple and yellow satin ribbon with white ric rac ribbon)
- Scissors
- White glue
- Hot glue
Steps
- Download my free lantern template. Print and cut out.
- Trace the template onto the foam sheets. Cut out the lantern shape and the window pane shape. (You can also cut out a simple rectangle for the window pane if desired).
- Next, cut a portion of the pipecleaner and bend it into an arch shape. Hot glue this to the back of your foam lantern shape. This will be the handle.
- Have children glue on the window panes to the lanterns and then decorate the lanterns with the foam sticker shapes and ribbon, customizing however they like!
*Please note all of Hello Holy Days! free templates are for personal or educational use. The template nor this craft should not be made or adapted for commercial purposes.
by Manal | May 15, 2018 | Eid Al-Fitr |
Happy Ramadan Banner featuring the Ramadan Drummer. Designed by Manal Aman of Hello Holy Days! for Crate & Kids.
Today I’m introducing a poem about the Ramadan Drummer. If you’ve been following Hello Holy Days! for a while and/ or recently purchased my Ramadan Drummer banner from Crate & Kids, you’re probably starting to become familiar with my concept of the Ramadan Drummer. I invented the idea of using the Ramadan Drummer as a holiday character for Ramadan/ Eid al Fitr because children love holiday characters like Santa and the Easter bunny – and Muslim children are no exception. I wanted to fill the void that American Muslim children feel when it comes to holiday characters by giving them a holiday character they can love and enjoy for Ramadan/ Eid!
The tradition of a drummer waking people for suhoor during Ramadan is a centuries old, real, tradition in Muslim cultures. The drummer exists in several Muslim cultures including Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, the Levant and many others. Inspired by this authentic tradition, I invented a fictional Ramadan Drummer to fit alongside North American holiday characters.
One thing you’ll notice about North American holiday characters is that they always have specific, unchanging physical traits. For example, Santa always wears a big red suit, he has black boots and sports a snowy white beard. A St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun always wears green, has a big tall hat and an orange beard. Similarly, I’ve created the Ramadan Drummer to have specific physical traits that I use in all my depictions of him, whether products or crafts.
In this poem, I outline what some of those traits are so that kids can learn more about who he is and what he looks like. For example, The Ramadan Drummer always has a brown beard. His hat and vest are always purple. His shoes are always yellow.
This poem is written in a poetic list style and I’ve made it available for you to download for free for personal or educational use.
There are many ways to engage children with this poem. For preschool aged children, consider a performance reading. Read the poem and come up with actions or movements that go with the verses. For example, act out how the Ramadan Drummer bangs his drums, how he feeds his pet cat or how he marches through the town. Perform it together with the kids and get the little ones active!
For children who are able to read, have them colour in the drummer with cues from the poem. For example, what colour does the poem describe the drummer’s hat as? Have them colour it with the according colour.
If you purchased my Ramadan Drummer banner from Crate & Kids this poem is an excellent accompaniment to display in the home. You can print out the poem, put it in a frame and place it next to where the banner is hanging to encourage storytelling and imaginative play.
For more about the Ramadan Drummer, please subscribe to my newsletter to be the first to know about my upcoming literary works and merchandise featuring the Ramadan Drummer.
Please note the fictional Ramadan Drummer used as a North American holiday character is the intellectual property and trademark of Manal Aman and may require license for commercial use.
