Happy Kandil?



Last night was the 27th of Ramadan, the night when many Turks observe the "Night of Power," commemorating the night when Allah lowered the Qur'an to earth and began revealing it to Muhammad. Muslims believe that Allah is especially close on this night and the Qur'an promises that prayers performed on this night are worth 1,000 months (83 years) of prayers on other nights. So, many of our Muslim friends stayed up late to pray, especially for forgiveness.

In Turkey this day is celebrated as a "kandil," a religious holiday. One of our neighbors came by with a home-made dessert made from semolina (it's like a thick Cream of Wheat pudding), one of my favorites. A few minutes later another neighbor delivered a special cinnamon "simit" made for days like this. Simit is a round bread with sesame seeds. She brings them to us for every "kandil."

When neighbors drop food off or greet one another on days like this, they often say something like "kandiliniz mubarek olsun" or "iyi kandiller" ("may your kandil be blessed" or "happy kandil"). And sometimes I'm stuck with deciding on an appropriate response.

If someone wishes you a "blessed day-on-which-the-Qur'an-was-revealed," what do you say? It's easy enough just to return the greeting and get on with your day, but I wonder if there is some other way to respond... a way to introduce something from the gospel without taking advantage of my neighbors' hospitality...

Comments

Mamasita said…
Hmmmm...good question...What would I say to that greeting....?? You got me wondering over here...
October 30, 2007 at 8:58 PM
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