Gurgiyan

Today was the the third and final day of Gurgiyan in Kuwait. Gurgiyan is a holiday similar to American Halloween that is celebrated in Gulf States such as Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. It happens about ten days into Ramadan, and is a way for kids to celebrate and enjoy the month even as their parents are in the middle of fasting. Basically, kids (and their teachers:) ) dress up in traditional Kuwaiti/Arabic clothes:












And go door to door in their neighborhoods collecting candy and nuts after they sing a Gurgiyan song. At school, student brought in more candy than you can imagine-it was kind of like Halloween on steroids. All of these boxes are filled with elaborate bags of candy:





Which were then distributed. The corner pile is the candy I received, 1/25 of the total amoount in the room:



And spent the remainder of the day whining about how they didn't want to be in school! It was really fun to see all of the kids dressed up, and we did complete some academic work as well as the games and parties and parades throughout the day, so all in all I think Gurgiyan was a fun day.

None of the kids (or teachers, for that matter) could really explain where Gurgiyan comes from and what the deeper meaning of the holiday is, but it seems like it's just a fun day of celebration. We also had an elementary fashion show and parade, and it was so cute to see all the little ones dressed up. I don't think there are many things cuter than a kid dressed up in a dishdasha (the traditional white tunic Arab men wear).



Tomorrow it will be back to the regular routine, but there are only eleven (and potentially ten, depending on the moon) days of class left before our six day Eid holiday! The year is flying by on our shortened schedule, but I really am proud of the progress my class has already made and I think it will only get better from here!