Eid-ul-Fitr is a festival of prayers, joy, happiness, and brotherhood. At Staford, Eid was celebrated with great fervor and excitement. The celebrations began with an informative presentation by Sarah Madam in which she explained to the children the meaning, purpose and importance of Ramzan and the subsequent celebration of Eid. She explained how Eid comes as a reward for those who have remained pure and noble at heart during the holy month of Ramadan and followed the path of God. Ayesha Madam also explained the intricacies of Eid and brought the cultural aspects of the celebration into focus. She initiated the children into the Lucknawi tradition of celebrating Eid and described the various preparations of sewai made on the occasion and also told them about how this festival brings special cheer for the children as they wear new clothes and get money or Eidi and sweet on the occasion. Both the speakers reiterated the importance of celebrating this festival by sharing joys, meeting others, distributing sweets among their loved ones and giving alms to the needy..
After the wonderful introduction to the festival of Eid, the students of class 3 presented a dance program “Eid is here” which further elucidated on how Eid is celebrated on a crescent moon night. Class 6 recited a poem on the occasion, conveying the message of peace and harmony. Then, came the main attraction of the program- a skit presented by students of class 2 to 5. The skit was an adaptation of Munshi Premchand’s story “Eidgaah”. It was the story of a small boy “Hamid” who goes to the fair on Eid like all other children. But instead of enjoying himself like all other boys and girls at the fair and buying treats and toys with the money his grandma gave him, he buys a small pair of tongs for his grandmother to save her fingers from getting burnt. This touching story of love and sacrifice really impressed the children and they all appreciated the effort made by the children in presenting it. The grand finale of the special assembly on Eid was a dance by class 3 choreographed to the song “I love my India” The special assembly was successful in conveying the significance of Eid and was much appreciated by the Principal Sir, who encouraged children to follow the path of peace, love and friendship.
The Pre-primary section was not behind in celebrating Eid with the same enthuisiasm. In fact the children of Nursery and KG came dressed in the traditional attire and learnt how to meet and greet friends and relatives, and how to offer them sweet delicacies on Eid.