Sahar02

Hi all,

I know there are lots of different religious and cultural celebrations amongst Muslims and Pakistanis. I just feel like I don't really know much about any of them. So tell me, what milestones do you celebrate, besides birthdays? And what sorts of celebrations do you have?

Starting from birth, what should we be thinking about and planning? And if you could give me the religious and cultural significance, when relevant, that would be helpful! Thank you!

UZ

I did my daughter's aqeeqa a big function, then I did after finishing her Quran I did her ameen function.And of course every eid which is twice a year we make a big deal about it.

I never did their Quran starting function but you can always do that also.

Mehnaz

for boys, within the first week - month:

- circumcision
- shaving of head

not really 'celebrated' but they are big deals.

actually, some families celebrate circumcision by giving out mithai (in addition to the mithai that is given out when a baby is born).

njgal

what a great thread. I never saw a listing of milestones (cultural or islamic).

Sara516

um...why mithai for circumcision ?

Mehnaz

cause of the religious significance i suppose. it's a big deal in islam, so people celebrate it when it's done. first step in being a muslim man maybe?

Muzna

Bismillah
Ameen
Roza-kushaee

Ira

We are still in the process of this so i will share what we have done so far: We did Kanzah's aqeeqah per sunnah on the 7th day (you can also do it on the 14th or the 21st day). Hubs did the slaughtering himself and we invited everyone we knew a few days later over the weekend for a huge dawat.

one thing i didnt know was that aqeeqah is not the dawat but the actual act of slaughtering and also removing the baby's hair. Dont forget to give charity according to the weight of the baby's hair in silver.

njgal

Religious:

Azaan in ear
Circumcision for boys
Head shave - aqeeqa
First Eid
Bismillah
Ameen
First Roza
First Azaan (for boys)

Cultural ones (this might be just my family)
- first time girls made a roti
- got their nose pierced, ears pierced
- first time they wore "sonay ki balliyaan"
- first time boys earned something - gave the first pay check to their mom
- first time I made money - my dad made me donate it to masjid
- first job - take everyone out
- first car - take everyone out in the car

ahmadjee

First roza, first Eid ... first Azaan? humm never heard of those.

njgal

You haven't heard of roza khusaee in Pakistan. They make a big deal when a child keeps his/her first roza.

Mom makes all of the child's favorite foods to eat for Iftar.

Child gets money from relatives that parents hoard. Doesn't ring a bell?

ahmadjee

Aren't they more like South Asian culture norms?

njgal

Good point - I don't know the answer.

Do Arab cultures celebrate first roza for their children?

Milly

Iv never heard of first roza either. My brother did get a Play Station for keeping all the fasts when he was 12. But that was more of a bribe so my dad could be 'popular' at the mosque...some sort of mad mullah father competition.

Ira

I have only recently heard of roza kushai, we have never done it in our family for anyone. I think its just a way of encouraging the kids.

I have heard of indian hyderabadis doing a big dawat for literally everything,like when a girl gets her ears pierced, when the child does something new/learns a new skill etc.

Sara516

when the child gets married?

ahmadjee

^ hahaha

Mehnaz

I think it might be a regional thing. My relatives are all from Karachi and we do a roza khushai in my family.

Niksik

Religious Milestones:

Aqeeqah. In our home we do it within the first 7 days and have a small family get together.

We have already started teaching my older daughter how to do namaz...and inshaAllah when it becomes obligatory for her, we will make sure she starts praying.

Same for roza.

Cultural:
So far no one has done Bismillah for any of the kids, but I would love to do an Ameen upon the completion of my kid's Quran inshaAllah.

She hasn't yet keep a full day of roza but when she does, we will do something special.

Muzna

woohoo...Nikki and I are on the same track.
Masha-Allah Noor led my namaz on laila-tul-qadr this year.
I was so proud. I was crying.
I made such a big deal out of it by digging out the janamaz that ammi gave me when I was young and presenting it to her. She was thrilled to bits!