Well today's Easter Sunday. Right about now everyone back home is either in the kitchen preparing the big feast, playing with their new toys or eating their candy that the easter bunny brought, or sitting around watching TV or chatting with family. I know that my Grandma Frankie is in Williston for the holiday. I imagine here and Marlene are playing cards or sitting on the couch together chatting it up. Although I wish I could be home with my family today, this isn't going to be a sentimental post, but rather one of observation.
There are obvious differences between the American and Moroccan cultures. Too many to count or cite. But one difference I've noticed is how people celebrate holidays. For example, in Western cultures the birth of Christ is surrounded by the most extreme consumerism and commercialism for the entire year. Christmas is an event that results in paid time off from work, week-long vacations, people traveling hundreds and ever thousands of miles to be with family and friends, and the Christmas "season" lasts an entire month. It's a BIG deal.
However, in Morocco "Aid Almawlid Nabawi" which is the celebration of the birth of the Prophet Mohammed, came and went with barely even a whimper. No where in the entire country did I see a fabulously decorated Olive tree (to Christmas' Christmas tree), window decals, super-sales at the Marjane or in the medinas, and the school week went almost uninterrupted. While the academic calendar indicted a 4-day weekend for the holiday, we were only given one due to the fact that Aid Almawalid Nabawi fell on Sunday, and not Monday as had been anticipated. There were no carollers, big community events, plays, or concerts, or even tales of fat men dressed in red coming in the middle of the night to leave gifts for the children. In fact, there were much bigger celebrations for Valentines day, Halloween, and Christmas on campus than for any Muslim holiday.
What does this say about the two cultures? I've always been a little jaded towards the American/Western/Christian holidays. I've always felt that they are abused by corporations to increase sales and abused by people as a means to get more stuff. I've felt for a long time now that the true meaning of the holidays have been lost and buried under layers of greed and self-serving, gratuitous acts of "generosity". Easter is a little different in that it isn't so overboard with the buying and marketing, but the stores shelves are still stocked full of candy, little bunnies, plastic eggs, and baskets. The one redeeming quality to the holidays is that families DO get together for dinner and activities. This is something I truly miss during this Easter holiday.
Morocco, on the other hand, does the absolute minimum for the holidays. There was one day this year (I can't remember the name of the occasion, and if anyone knows please remind me) where there was big feast of lamb and the cities all but shut down. I believe it was the Muslim new year. But again, there was minimal advertising, and I don't know if anyone got any gifts. It seemed as though it was just a day of feasting and celebration with family and friends. One thing's for sure, Muslims LOVE to eat. However, this is a little too minimalistic for my tastes. I feel as though the Moroccans are passing up a great opportunity to get together as a family and share in celebration. This could have something to with my impression that Moroccan family ties are much stronger than those in America, so by the time a holiday comes around the last thing they want is another reason to be with their family. I know that if I had to eat with my family every night I wouldn't be too excited about Christmas or Easter dinner.
Anyway, that's enough out of me on the topic. I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter weekend and I hope all of you now have a couple of more cavities due to all the sweets that you undoubtedly eat.
