Wrapping Up Hajj and Getting Your Family Excited!

With Eid upon us tomorrow, inshaAllah, we are wrapping up our small study on hajj! As I talked about before, I got the National Geographic DVD Inside Mecca and Malcolm X’s biography. We watched the DVD together as a family and I had Care Bear read the chapter on Mecca in Malcolm X’s biography. I couldn’t help feeling she would be a little lost starting in the middle of the book, so I had her watch Spike Lee’s Malcolm X movie made in the 90’s. Now, this does have some mature content, but I felt she was able to handle it. We can talk about the injustices in the 60’s and why the Nation of Islam grew such a following, but this movie really brings it to life. Without this background information, I don’t think one can really get the full extent of how hajj was such a life changing event for Malcolm, and for so many others. Ya Allah, I pray we can all go on hajj one day!

I’ve found in years past if you don’t give attention to the days of Hajj, it feels like Eid comes out of the blue! Some other small things we do to get the excitement for Eid:

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  Put up lights! This is a little gesture, and you can get them on clearance after Christmas, but it helps the kids recognize that something special is happening. We just drape the lights along our front window curtain rail at the beginning of Ramadan and leave it up until Eid al-Adha, though not turning on the lights after Ramadan until Dhul-Hijjah starts.

• Talk about virtues of hajj. We have talked about the benefits of fasting the days of hajj, and how hajj wipes away a lifetime of sins if performed with good intentions. Next year I want to go more in depth with this, inshaAllah, and find some story books for Litte Miss.
• Talk about those who are going on hajj this year. This helps bring Hajj home in the minds of our families. If they are close enough friends or family, ask them to tell your kids about their personal hajj experience!

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  Share hajj photos taken this year. Facebook is filled with many pictures from various Islamic Facebook Pages. This year, Dawah Times shared a lot of great pictures!

• Involve your kids with gift giving! Kids love to give gifts, and if you get them involved, they get excited to give the gifts too! This year we just got one family gift instead of individual gifts, so everyone was involved with choosing the gift, and I’ve asked Care Bear what I should get for Little Miss.

I pray everyone has a happy and safe Eid, and inshaAllah anyone who went on hajj this year, their hajj is accepted. What are everyone’s plans for Eid?