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A notable blow is hanging over this year’s Eid holiday, as well as the accompanying gifts. What the Lebanese are experiencing today on the occasion of the holidays is unlike any of the past years. Neither the Eid table, their gifts, nor the Friday that was crowned can compare with the ones they used to make recently.
The purchase of gifts that were among the priority concerns of the Lebanese during these seasons has been notably absent to take another course that is on par with the economic crisis and the pandemic in which they live. The Lebanese people have been hardened by the successive crises they have experienced and this has negatively affected their lifestyle. Apart from the economic crisis they are going through, they live in a state of depression due to the explosion in Beirut and the spread of the pandemic. The atmosphere of the Eid celebrations was overshadowed by a title that was applied by the majority, which reads: “The Sunnah has left us without gifts.”
And those who wanted to go against the current and buy symbolic gifts, no longer resorted to markets and electronics stores or to shopping centers that adjust to the pocket with the prices of their merchandise.
In this way, they save themselves the trouble of searching and crowding the markets, thus they are safe from the epidemic. They can also discover the price differences between one store and another with the click of a button. They choose what suits their budget.
The types of gifts in recent years included accessories, jewelry, fashion, and bags. As well as accommodation in pensions and travel cards that loved ones are given on this occasion. This list is absent from the Eid scene this year, to be replaced by gifts of another kind that accompany the economic, social and health conditions in which they live.
These changes also affected the family, which has been restricted to members of the same family. For parents who are reunited with grandparents and grandchildren in the dozens under one roof it is not recommended by the World Health Organization. And the Lebanese Ministry of Health has stepped up its awareness announcements, through television screens and radio broadcasts, and advises social distancing from all standards.
Mia Feghali, a mother of two, saw digital shopping as the best way to go this season. She told Asharq Al-Awsat: “This year, our affairs have completely changed. Instead of going to the markets a few weeks before Eid, I search and search for the gifts and toys that my children want, I am content to shop at Here I can see the price difference from one store to another without having to search for days. As for Rali Layan, whom we met in one of Beirut’s well-known malls, he said: “There is no place to shop and buy Gifts. Here they calculate the prices in dollars and convert them into pounds according to the payment process chosen by the customer. The price changes if you decide to pay directly (in cash) in Lebanese pounds, dollars or by means of a bank credit card. “
People crammed with gift bags, as before, have become rare in shopping malls. They are leaving it as they entered it without buying.
As for Ali, who works in a well-known store that sells women’s fashion, “The whole picture has completely changed from previous years. There is a notable decrease in the purchasing power of our customers, especially since the price of pants, for example, has become equivalent to a million pounds, if it is 100 dollars. For the Lebanese, it has become a lot. “
Gifts of add-ons, mugs and decorative tools that give the recipient a personal character are the most popular this year for the holiday season, and these gifts are on the “gadget” list. In addition to colorful pillows, feather bears and small boxes of chocolate with the name of the person who gives it, there are also types of soaps packaged in a small wooden box engraved with the name of a friend or relative, which they are a suitable gift for many at reasonable prices. As for expensive wristwatches, bags, shoes and fashion, they are completely absent after their hard currency price cannot be easily saved.
Some families agreed on the eve of the holiday to apply the “Secret Santa” method to buy gifts. “We found a way to save a lot of expenses,” says Pamela. Each one takes out a sheet of paper with the name of a person on it and is responsible for giving them a gift. Therefore, we save by buying gifts for all members of the family ”. Minimalist straw baskets hatching small bags of dried fruit or Lebanese moons flourish in Eid markets and at fairs held especially for the occasion.
As for the gifts that go hand in hand with the epidemic in which we live, they are also witnessing a remarkable boom. They range from drugs, pharmaceutical cosmetics, creams, respirators, respirators, and sterilizing fluids.
Discounts for the “BCR” test are also promoted on holidays. Some small internal laboratories and hospitals have opened the door for these tests to be carried out on family members at half the current price. “We decided to do the test and then quarantine ourselves so we could reunite,” said Natalie, who refused to have her extended family gather at the Christmas table at her home. The discounts offered by the laboratories and some hospitals were very appropriate for us and allowed us to celebrate Eid together.
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