新西兰英语 812 End of ramadam

 　　My name is Urooj. Pakistan is my home town, but currently¹ I am living in New Zealand. Today is Eid day, “Eid-ul-fitar”, the feast² of breaking the fast. It marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month is which Muslims have to fast from sunrise to sunset. It is also called “sweet festival” or “sugar feast” because sugar sweet dishes are one of the main traditional items of that day. “Sheer khurma” is the famous sweet dish which is specially³ prepared from milk, vermicelli noodles, sugar and dried fruits. This sweet dish is cooked in almost all houses. Eid-ul-fitar is also called “lesser eid” because there is another eid that comes at the end of Islamic months and mark the pilgrimage of Haj.

　　Muslims start Eid day with prayer to say thanks to their God that they have passed the holy month of fasting with blessing⁴. The purpose of Eid is to show happiness and to give as much charity as possible. Money is distributed to poor and needy⁵ people before the Eid prayer so that they can also be part of the celebration.

　　Although every Islamic country has different ways to celebrate this festival, Eid has been celebrated⁶ enthusiastically and happily by every Muslim. For Eid, people buy new dresses, shoes, jewellery and they distribute gifts and eid cards among family members and friends. Girls also apply henna on their hands which is a temporary form of skin decoration.

　　On Eid, elders give “Eidi” which is a small amount of money to their children and youngsters⁷, so children and youngsters might be the richest age group on that day.

　　Islamic countries usually give 3 or 4 holidays to celebrate this big event but in New Zealand, people celebrate this event on the next nearest weekend. There are many Muslims living here in New Zealand who belong to different parts of the world. They celebrate Eid by means of arranging gatherings⁸ for lunch and dinner, and conducting games for children. Some of them try to go back to their country to celebrate this festival with their relatives and friends.

　　Vocabulary

　　?a fast, fasting (n) – going without food

　　?pilgrimage – a religious journey

　　?holy – religious

　　?charity – giving (money) to the poor or needy

　　?distribute – give to many people, deliver

　　?henna – red colour

　　?to conduct games – organise games

1 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

2 feast   

n.盛宴，筵席，节日

参考例句：

• After the feast she spent a week dieting to salve her conscience.大吃了一顿之后，她花了一周时间节食以安慰自己。
• You shouldn't have troubled yourself to prepare such a feast!你不该准备这样丰盛的饭菜，这样太麻烦你了！

3 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

4 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

5 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 youngsters   

n.孩子( youngster的名词复数 )；少年；青年；年轻人

参考例句：

• We followed the youngsters at a more sedate pace. 我们跟在年轻人后面，步子稍慢一点。
• The camp is for youngsters aged 8 to 14. 这次夏令营是为8至14岁的少年儿童安排的。

8 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。