Muslims Worldwide Celebrate Eid Al-Fitr

 

By Suzanne Presto¹

Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the breaking of the fast after the holy month of Ramadan.
As hundreds of Muslims bow in prayer, bright gold balloons above their heads spell out "Eid Mubarak," meaning "blessed Eid," the traditional Muslim greeting for the holiday.
In North America, it is the first day of Eid al-Fitr, and Muslims in the Washington area are assembled in a giant hall of the city's convention center to say special prayers, socialize and exchange gifts, and to eat during daylight hours for the first time in a month.
The event is part prayer, part party. The hall features a large section for prayers, and other areas for carnival² games, stalls selling beaded jewelry³, perfumes, clothing and toys, and places to donate money and canned goods for the needy⁴.
Kenyan-born Yasmin Khan used to join in the celebrations when she lived just outside of Washington. Although she and her family now live a few hours away, she said she is drawn⁵ back to Washington because the festival here is so lively. "I've come specially⁶ to celebrate Eid. We used to live here, and we've brought our children back to meet our friends and neighbors and just to celebrate Eid, generally," she said.
The three-day festival of Eid al-Fitr is celebrated⁷ differently throughout the world. In general, Muslims pray, enjoy large meals with loved ones, and sometimes give gifts to children.
The festival is also celebrated on different days worldwide, as the holiday is based on the sighting of the new moon.
In some countries, including the United States, Egypt and Indonesia - the nation with the world's largest Muslim population - Eid observances began Sunday.
Throngs⁸ of Indonesians left the cities to visit family and friends in their hometowns, crowding trains and causing traffic jams on roads.
In the contested Himalayan region of Kashmir, Muslims gathered in mosques⁹ Sunday to pray for peace. In other parts of India, eid observances will begin Monday.
Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia and neighboring nations, Muslims started their celebrations Saturday with huge feasts.
The normally festive¹⁰ holiday has fallen during a period of mourning in the United Arab Emirates for the president, who died less than two weeks ago. There were subdued¹¹ observances in the West Bank and Gaza out of respect for Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader who died Thursday.
Suzanne Presto, VOA News, Washington.

注释：
Eid al-Fitr 开斋节
Ramadan 斋月
assemble集合，召集
carnival 狂欢节
stall货摊
beaded 饰以珠的, 珠状的
donate  捐赠, 募捐
needy 穷人
observance 仪式
traffic jam塞车, 交通堵塞
Himalayan region喜玛拉雅区域
mosque 清真寺
Saudi Arabia 沙特阿拉伯
Emirates阿拉伯酋长

1 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

2 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

3 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

4 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。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 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。

7 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。

8 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

9 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

10 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

11 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。