‘A lot of Muslim kids are extremely happy’: Miami-Dade Schools observe new holiday, Eid
For the first time in her life, 15-year-old Jannat Anjum will get to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr on Wednesday the way she’s always seen her classmates celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah and other holidays: She’ll get it off from school.
“I’m so excited,” Anjum said. “And I know a lot of Muslim kids are extremely happy. Eid is a really big holiday for us.”
For the first time ever, Miami-Dade County Public Schools will let students stay home for Eid, a festive day in which friends and family gather to enjoy meals together and exchange presents after a month of fasting from sun up to sun down. The holiday marks the end of Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month.
Last year, when approving this year’s school calendar, the Miami-Dade School Board agreed to mark down April 10, 2024 as a teacher planning day.
The district has about 20,000-25,000 Muslim students and about 500 Muslim faculty and staff, according to Shabbir Motorwala, a founding member of the Coalition of South Florida Muslim Organizations (COSMOS).
FROM LAST YEAR: Miami-Dade school district recognizes Eid, sacred Ramadan holiday, for first time
When she was younger, Anjum sometimes got to skip school for Eid excusing the absence as a religious holiday. But now, as a freshman at John A. Ferguson Senior High School in Kendall, she can’t afford to fall behind on her learning.
Like other Muslims, Anjum has spent the last 30 days fasting from dawn to sunset, reflecting on her relationship with God and feeling compassion toward the less fortunate. She’ll spend Wednesday with relatives, visiting friends, as Muslims usually do in Eid.
She’ll wear a matching shalwar kameez, a traditional dress and trouser combination, with her mother. Her mother’s will be peach orange and hers will be pink, both in the same pattern and both ordered from Pakistan.
“It’s going to be great,” Anjum said. “I can’t wait.”
Similarly, Mehmet Ulutas will celebrate Eid with his two boys, Bera, 14, and Enes, 9. Ulutas immigrated to the U.S. from his native Turkey in 1995 and has always wanted to honor the holiday the way he did back there.
READ MORE: With iftar dinners, South Florida Muslim community hopes to build bridges during Ramadan
Bera is a ninth grader at Barbara Goleman Senior High in Miami Lakes and Enes is a fourth grader at West Lakes Preparatory Academy in Hialeah.
“It feels good,” Enes said.
Before this year, Ulutas’ family would only get to attend the Eid morning prayer, have breakfast and then visit loved ones if the holiday fell on a weekend. He thanked the School Board on Tuesday for recognizing the day officially.
“It makes me feel awesome,” said Ulutas said.
He said he’s excited about eating his wife’s stuffed pastries and celebrating Eid with the same freedom in which he usually celebrates Thanksgiving, another of his favorite holidays.
For Zarina Pino, a medical doctor, the calendar change this year feels particularly meaningful, as a Miami-Dade County Public Schools alumna herself who never got to embrace the holiday without compromising her schoolwork.
She now has two kids at George Washington Carver Elementary in Coral Gables. They’re both thrilled to celebrate Eid with their grandparents, she said, and she’s thankful they don’t have to make the same sacrifice she had to.
Also, Pino said the change this year has allowed her share more about her family’s traditions.
“It’s been gratifying to explain why we’re getting that day off this year, and talk about why we celebrate Eid,” she said.
FROM 2021: Broward schools will recognize end of Ramadan for the first time in upcoming year
