kilted at Eid al-Fitr

[Meggers]

This Sunday was Eid al-Fitr (end of the month of Ramadan) and everyone wears their newest and prettiest traditional clothing to the prayer hall for prayer and then usually a lot of picnics and parties afterwards. In the past years, I have usually worn the commonly found traditional clothing that one would see at Eid prayer: Abayas, shalwar kameez, etc. Well, this year (and in the future), I decided that I would wear MY cultural clothing instead of someone elses'. I decided to go in my tartan skirt

I noticed some looks right off the bat since it's not something that these people have ever seen. I also decided not to go with a floor length hostess skirt and got a skirt made that hits me right below the knee, so I wore white tights and knee high boots with it. Next year, I will go in a hostess skirt so that I dont have to worry about length when I take my boots off for prayer. The only downside was that I had to put on a floor length skirt over the top of it during the prayer so it was hidden for that

The best part was that I was really obviously wearing MY traditional clothing and no one approached me like "hey cute plaid skirt." Everyone knew it was a kilt They knew it was a Scottish garment and that I was a Scottish-American in it. Not just a white girl in a shalwar kameez. I had some friends that I knew from the MSA and school approach me and instantly ask about it and one girl said "you look so Scottish today!" My favorite was when an Iraqi-American girlfriend of mine said to me that she "couldnt get over how awesome my skirt was" and how she is so excited that I came in something from MY heritage and not just a fancy Arabic dress. I walked by a group of people at the picnic after prayer and I overheard the word "Ireland" as I passed which made me smile. I was really worried that people would think that I just came in an every day skirt. I really wanted it to be a statement: That I was proud of where I come from and want to display it the way other people are displayign theirs. Im REALLY happy that the message got across

I do have pictures but all of them are awful and blurry. When my friend emails me hers, I will share them. She got better ones. However, I did want to share the story For next year, I will have a hostess skirt made and a sash so that I can be really formal. I looked nice but my outfit was pretty casual for the event. Usually people wear their fanciest things so I felt a tad under dressed. In my hostess skirt and sash, I will feel perfectly fit for the party