I always find that here in the West, we tend to make more effort for Eid ul Fitr, probably because of the fasting. When it comes to Eid ul adha however, we do not make such a big fuss.
When it comes to children though and teaching them Islam and what the festivals mean and their significance then really we can't afford to take our eye off the ball. We need to make that extra effort in ensuring that an atmosphere of festivity, fun and above all remembrance of Allah swt and his Prophets (as) is created.
I hadn't officially planned anything on this topic but when the time came I managed to pull a few things together to really involve the girls with what was happening and alhamdulillah I'm so glad I did.
The girls had so much fun and learnt so much.
We had various discussions about Hajj, Eid, Sacrifice and the story of Ibrahim (as).
One afternoon I spontaneously decided to dress all the toys into ihram. The girls were delighted and couldn't wait to take their toys on hajj with them. They created their own role plays of entering the airport, aeroplane and then enacted the hajj rituals. We made some stones from foil and they couldn't wait to find the 'shaytaan' to throw them at.
I managed to pick up a few materials to make our own model of the kaaba and it turned out quite well. Ideally I would've liked to have also made a maqaam Ibrahim, safa and marwa, tents in Mina and arafat, the jamarat pillars and the Propeht (Saw)'s mosque but this was too ambitious for this year.
Masha'allah Rahmah has been praying for almost a year and the others also occasionally pray with us. I make a point of mentioning at the beginning of each prayer we do together that we are praying facing the kaabah and we are praying only for Allah's sake. The kaabah is therefore very much known to them. Besides, I think Rahmah may still have some vague memories of our Umrah trip almost 4 years ago and certainly from when their dad visited Makkah last year.
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Making the kaabah model and having it there in our kitchen to look at and admire throughout the day just made it more visual. Fifi fell in love with the kaabah, and every time she would see it she would say 'there's the kaaba' and 'I love the kaaba'. She can now properly identify it in pictures and will even point to the finer details of the black stone, masha'allah. Just this in itself has shown me how important it is to inculcate a love of the house of Allah within our children at a young age and how quickly the children absorb and understand the deen.
We watched some hajj documentaries and Nur was so amazed to discover that 'lasagne and doner meat' actually comes from sheep. It was one great realisation for her and took a few moments to sink in!! She kept asking 'Mum, do we really eat sheep?'. It was hilarious, especially when moments later she questioned me 'Mum, where do chips comes from?' and 'which animal do chips come from?'
I found this excellent site where I managed to download lots of hajj related printable activities for the girls to do during the days of Eid when we were at home.
Insha'allah, I've made a mental note to myself to actively plan for Hajj and Eid into our timetables for future years. I also pray that Allah (swt) gives us the honour of visiting his house together as a family and completing the hajj.
