Eid at the Faerie House

 This story is especially for S and A. 

T1 had heard lots about Dog researching on-line during the winter and thought there were a few things T1 very much wanted to learn about. Some friends of the faerie house do something called Ramadan and they celebrate Eid. T1 thought it was time to find out about that. 

Ramadan, the month of fasting from sun-up to sun-down, sounded hard to T1. Hibernation during winter was one thing, but fasting in any other season wouldn't be easy for a reptile. 

Eid is a festival celebrated at the end of Ramadan. T1 was all in on making a festival. The tricky thing about Eid is that the exact day isn't known until someone in authority sees the new moon. T1 decided to wait to see how that happened. There were things to be planned and ordered in the meantime.  

A few days later, while T1 was learning more about Eid and how one breaks the fast by eating dates (T1 had never had dates), T1 heard the sound of deliveries at the door. 

Sure enough, there were some large boxes outside the door labelled:

    Faerie House

    Big Tree

    Omi's yard

T1 unpacked the smallest box. It contained the lanterns.

T1 sat very still and thought warm, loving thoughts. That's how you invite faeries.

"Faeries," T1 said quietly, with closed eyes, "I need your help hanging these lanterns."

After a deep breath, T1 looked around. The lanterns were hanging from the ceiling and looked absolutely beautiful. 

T1 was happy to see Frog come in. Frog is the best cook of all the friends. T1 explained about the Eid festival and how food is a big part of it. This got Frog on board.

"Do you think you could learn how to make biryani?" T1 asked. "I found a recipe on a website that looks good."

"Oh yes!" said Frog. "I will look at that right away and make a grocery list. Dog and Hedgehog can do some shopping."

T1 went outside to open another box. Inside this box was some garland to hang on the outside of the faerie house.

"This will be nice!" thought T1.

The last box was VERY heavy. T1 knew what that was. Gold is very heavy. T1 had to wrestle the box onto its side so T1 could open it. T1 cut the tape with a pocket knife and the rocks spilled out. T1 had to scurry out of the way!

"How grand!" said T1. "We are going to have a beautiful Eid!"

As T1 was thinking about where the rocks should go, Dog and Hedgehog returned from the grocery store. Dog was carrying a heavy bag of rice and Hedgehog had a bag filled with dates.

"We got everything you asked for," they said together, then looked around. "Wow, this stuff is very impressive!"

Frog was busy cooking. T2 was helping, believe it or not. 

Dog and Hedgehog helped T1 hoist, shove and place the rocks. 

T1 was very particular.

The garland was another big job. Teamwork got that job done. 

They stood back and admired their work.

"I have one more thing," said T1.

T1, Dog and Hedgehog moved a silhouette of a mosque into place.

They felt satisfied and delighted. They went inside to see how the biryani making was going. 

The evening was quiet. Then the news came that the new moon had been seen. The festival could begin the next day.

The next morning the friends gathered to share a bowl of dates. It was unusual for them to eat together in the morning, and none of them had eaten dates before. 

"I like these," said T2. "Be careful not to eat the pits."

T1 had one final festival surprise: a bright ribbon for each friend to wear, like new clothes. It took them awhile, even though they helped each other, to get the ribbons tied on. They looked great. They headed outside.

When they got outside they saw what the faeries had added.  Eid Mubarak! On with the feast!

Hedgehog laid out a table cloth. Frog and T2 brought out the plates of biryani. It smelled really good!

They sat in a circle. There was an extra plate, ready for an unexpected visitor. Being generous is part of Eid.   

They ate until they were full. Then they relaxed together. Dog built a fire to keep the chill off the evening. 

Hedgehog turned to T1 and said, "Thank you for all your research and planning for this Eid celebration. I have learned so much and it has been fun. 

Eventually it got dark. In Edmonton in April, it isn't dark until 9:30.

"Do you think the faeries will join us?" asked T2.

"Perhaps they are still busy," said Frog (with some intuition about what might happen next).

A moment later, lights started to twinkle around the friends and the faerie house.

"Ahhh, yes.....here they are," said T2.

In one voice, the friends said together, "EID MUBARAK"