Traditions of Egyptian Muslims in celebrating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad “Mawled al-Nabawi” differ from various Islamic countries, as in the case of the other religious customs that distinguishes Egypt in terms of traditions and social legacies.
Feeding, one of Islamic traditions is to provide food, on occasions, for the poor and needy people, but in the celebration of the Prophet’s birth, the birth of one of his family or a major cleric, the poor gather in the vicinity of the mosques that contains the tombs of those people; the rich are keen to provide food for the poor for the sake of Allah and to glorify Allah's saints.
On Prophet Muhammad’s birth, Muslims get used to buy traditional sweets, the families exchange sweets boxes that include famous sugar candy such as Folia, Homsia and simsimya.
The families buy candy dolls for their kids, for girls, they buy a doll in the shape of a bride decorated with colors and ribbons and wears a dress, while the boys get a doll in the shape of a knight riding a horse, but these sugar dolls has been replaced with a plastic version.
On this occasion, children enjoy swings in streets while the adults are keen to attend session where they chant religious poems and hymns to praise Allah and Prophet Muhammad in an authentic Egyptian tradition.
These ceremonies, organized popular carnivals through cooperation of various official bodies such as the Ministries of Culture and Tourism, can generate huge profit, but so far it remains a popular folklore.
Some of people dedicated their lives for these ceremonies in different governorates as they only return their homes in the Holy Month of Ramadan. They start their journey with the birth of the Prophet , then the birth of his grandson Al-Hussein, Ruqayyah bint Ali , Sayyida Nafisa , Imam Al Rifai, Imam Ali bin Zain al-Abidin, Ali Bayoumi in Husseinieh district and Sayyida Aisha bint Jaafar.
Contributed by Basant Ahmed
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