A New Kind of Celebration

Last Friday found me celebrating something I had never celebrated before. A new co-worker of ours who joined in the Spring had called in and asked if everyone could get together. What we would celebrate with him? The end of Ramadan! This was new to me! We had been aware that our new Libyan employee had been fasting, but we did not know how he'd commemorate the end of fasting. He explained to us that this day was like Christmas for him and he wanted to spend it with his new "family" at work! So, we all grouped ourselves into one of the offices and enjoyed the treats he'd brought: cake, fruit salad, figs and dates. He explained that to break the fast you eat the figs first then move on to the other stuff. Fun! He was dressed in traditional attire that day and looked stunning in striped satin pants and vest, white tunic, felt hat and sandals. And the smile he wore was wonderful! He was so pleased we could all get together. We ate and ate, talked about the holiday, learned words in Arabic and took lots of pictures. It was just like a little Christmas in the middle of September! Finally, we picked up plates of left overs and retreated to our separate corners of the building. I loved the experience! I was able to learn about a new holiday, learn new words, learn new traditions. We were all able to celebrate with a friend whose family is miles and miles away (who he had to call at 3am the night before to make up for the 12 hour time difference!). There was an atmosphere of giving and understanding and comfort and friendship that day. It was a heart-warming celebration and I'm glad I participated. It is amazing how much you can learn from those around you, and I felt honored that our sweet new member of the team considers all of us part of his family. *insert warm fuzzies here*

Yes, sadly the only picture I obtained myself
was of the cake. Though it was quite delicious!

Many blessings! (If only I could remember the Arabic version of that phrase...)