Offices, businesses, and classrooms have gone online, and now the beautiful tradition of Eidiyah.
Eidiyah is a cash gift elders give to young children in the family on the occasion of Eid. During the pre-Covid days people used to take extra care to collect 100 Baisa mint fresh notes from banks to give to children on the first day of Eid.
Currently, the Eid Al Adha of 2021 is being celebrated under lockdown for four days. This also means grandchildren, nieces and nephews will not be running around in excitement planning out on how to spend their Eidiyah. Ever since the pandemic started, families have been exchanging greetings on each Eid through digital platforms and so it was only a natural development that Eidiyah too would go online.
According to Hatim Abdulsalam, a member of the Islamic Information Centre, Eidiyah is all about love, care, and kindness whether it is for the needy or poor, the elderly or the younger generation.
“For the poor and needy we hand out the sacrificed meat, for the elderly we visit and spend time with them and Eidiyah is for the young ones. This makes them happy more than anything else,” explained Hatim.“ Now that we do Eidiyah electronically it is not 100 or 500 Baisas,” pointed out Hatim adding, “We contribute more but for fewer kids.”
So how is Eidiyah done electronically? “We deposit money in the parents’ accounts. For example, I would send it to all my sisters’ accounts,” said Zakiya al Hussaini who is ready for the day of Arafa. “In our family, we take the occasion to seek forgiveness from the elders and especially the grandparents in case we have committed anything wrong toward them. We also wear new clothes on the day.”
Khalfan al Toqi said the current situation was the perfect time to try something different and impactful for society. “Because we are going through a difficult stage and we have spent almost four Eids through the pandemic, I have changed my methodology of giving Eidiya.
In the past, I used to give Eidiyah to children."
"I communicated with my brothers and sisters and we are a big family and the deal is that they can go to specific shops and have your sweets helping Omani families who might not be well off but are professionals in making sweets. They can come under the category of cottage industries or SMEs. Helping them will make an impact by supporting the families. I have set a budget; beyond the budget they would have to meet the difference. This way we can make a bigger impact,” added Khalfan.
With the children receiving such awareness they might start early savings accounts and have an insight on supporting local businesses.
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