Online celebrations for this holiday season
Online celebrations for this holiday season
Ellen Whyte, Columnist, Malaysia, ellenwhyte@lepak.com
It's holiday season with Ramadhan, Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year all falling in December.
This week we take a look at sites offering free greeting cards, recipes and ideas for kids activities as well as more serious resources that look into the history and traditions of these holidays.
* Free Online Greeting Cards
If you've forgotten to send a card, or are throwing an impromptu party, visit Blue Mountain at www.bluemountain.com and Yahoo! Greetings at greetings.yahoo.com and sign up for free membership, (you're already a member if you use a Yahoo service such as email). Both sites have an excellent range of plain, animated and sound enhanced Idul Fitri, Ramadhan, Christmas and party invitation cards you may send to one or more people at the same time.
They will also let you set up an address book, keep track of cards sent and received, allow you to write a card for sending at a later date and organize reminders when it's time to send birthday and anniversary cards.
Alternatively, visit Cyberloft's Mail-a-meal at www.mailameal.com and mail your friends virtual hotdogs, bottles of champagne or entire banquets. Check out the links at the bottom of the page for sites that will let you send Virtual Presents such as an ATM, sports car or elephant and one of the dozens of funny Toonograms.
* Festive Recipes
There is no doubt about it, Epicurious at www.epicurious.com is the best recipe resource online. It has a database of 14,000 recipes, a food dictionary and the latest recipes from Gourmet and Bon Appitit magazines.
Browse the recipes, search by keyword or, go to the Enhanced Search and search for recipes by cuisine, course, ingredient, preparation, and occasion. There is a large section devoted exclusively to Christmas fare. For a range of recipes for Tabbouleh salad made from cracked bulgar wheat, aromatic lamb kebabs, the bean dip called Hummus and other dishes suitable for Idul Fitri parties browse the recipe section for Middle Eastern food.
* Entertaining Young Kids
If you have young kids who are bored while stuck indoors during those rainy afternoons over the holidays, visit Children Activities in Ramadhan at www.submission.org/YES/child2.html for craft ideas intended to help parents entertain and educate young children. Includes instructions for learning about and making a Fanoos Ramadhan lantern, a Ramadhan Calendar Chain and a night sky and moon project.
For Christmas entertainment, visit Bethany Roberts Christmas Fun at www.bethanyroberts.com/Christmasfun.htm for online songs you can sing along with, games and ideas for Christmas gifts. Also try Merry Christmas at www.merry-christmas.com/kids_zone.htm for more activity ideas, free online interactive games and coloring pages all with a Christmas theme.
* History of Ramadhan and Idul Fitri
The month of Ramadhan during which Muslims fast during daylight hours, celebrates the time during which the Koran was revealed. It is followed by Idul Fitri, a holiday named for "the breaking of the fast". Learn more about Ramadhan and Idul Fitri by visiting The Eid at www.theeid.com that explores related history, traditions and legends as well as offering recipes, greeting cards and PC wallpapers.
A similar site is Holidays Ramadan pages at www.holidays.net/ramadan that tells the story of how the Koran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad and has a selection of greeting cards.
For more in-depth information about the history and background of Ramadhan, check out Essentials of Ramadan, The Fasting Month a comprehensive introduction to the observance, by Tajuddin B. Shu`aib the author of The Prescribed PrayerMade Simple. This electronic book is available at www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/fasting/tajudd in/fast_1.html. Chapters cover issues such as What Is Ramadan, Kinds Of Fasting, Fasting The Month Ramadan - Sawm Ramadan, Bad Breath and Merits Of Ramadan.
* History of Christmas and New Year
It's no secret that many customs and rituals that are celebrated during Christmas and New Year on the 31st December and 1st of January have their roots in ancient festivals such as Winter Solstice and Saturnalia practiced in Celtic, Norse, German, Roman and other European based cultures more than 2000 years ago. Some of the best known include the practice of decorating homes with green leaves and trees, inviting everyone to celebrate, lighting candles and singing carols. Today New Age adherents and Wiccans are celebrating new forms of these ancient festivals, blending some old customs along with some newer ones.
Religious Tolerance at www.religioustolerance.org/winter_solstice.htm has a good page describing ancient and modern December celebrations by Ancient Greeks, Incas, Buddhists, Muslims and other groups.
For a good guide to Wiccan Yule holidays, festival foods and customs visit About's Yule page at paganwiccan.about.com/cs/yule. If you love the old-fashioned celebration with Santas, carols and Christmas trees, visit The History Channel Christmas Exhibition at www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas, an exquisite site that examines the roots of common Christmas traditions as well as the development of the modern festival.
Find similar resources by searching for: ramadan, ramadhan, idul fitri, eid-ul-fitr, id-al-fitr, christmas, saturnalia, yule, winter solstice.