Eid-Ul-Adha Celebration in Den Haag HS, Netherlands - My life in the Netherlands, 2023

The clock is ticking, days are turning into weeks and weeks are turning into months, and then comes a year. Time is not waiting for me, it won't consider my illness or my wellness. My life in Ukraine, memories, everything feels like happened yesterday. I wish I could erase everything so that I could become a new person to start fresh. Anyway, a day before yesterday Muslims all over the world celebrated Eid. Well, Europe and other regions celebrated Eid on Wednesday whereas many other countries celebrated Eid on Thursday which means yesterday. The date of Eid depends on the moon.

When I was in Ukraine, my Eid celebration was not as special as I used to celebrate in my homeland. In Ukraine, I was also all alone but the situation was different. I used to cook traditional food and used to go out to spend time with my Muslim friends. Also, sometimes I got invitations from families who were from Bangladesh as well. It's like a small group of community people of Muslims used to celebrate Eid in Ukraine. They used to celebrate together. I have been staying in the Netherlands as a refugee for 1 and a half years and 3 Eid celebrations already passed. As I was coming from the war, there was no way to celebrate Eid in the Netherlands, besides my mental situation didn't encourage me to celebrate Eid. But this time, when I was talking to my psychologist about the Eid celebration, she encouraged me to celebrate Eid-Ul-Adha this year. She said no matter what you feel, you do get ready, will go outside, take photos and eat good food. It seems like an instruction initially but trust me, she somehow made my day and filled me with happiness for some time.

Well, my session with my psychologist was on Tuesday and she told me what to do. Also, she searched on the internet; from where I can buy a traditional dress and food to celebrate Eid for me. I don't know whether it was part of my treatment or not but I really appreciate her effort to make me feel good.

Well, before Eid day, I went to an Indian shop to buy a traditional dress, and then later that same evening, I decided that I will celebrate my Eid in Den Haag HS. The dress cost me 40 Euros; of course, it's a traditional dress and won't be cheap. But despite thinking negatively, I decided I will push myself to keep away all negative thoughts and will focus on only tomorrow; so that I can celebrate Eid for the first time after fleeing from the war.

The reason for choosing Den Haag HS (The Hague) was because it was far away from my city and I found a good Afghani restaurant there to eat some traditional food. In Almere, I didn't find a good Afghani food restaurant and I was avoiding going to Amsterdam honestly. Amsterdam is always busy and moreover, during summer, it is overcrowded. I didn't want to spoil my day feeling overwhelmed by the crowd. There is another key reason for choosing Den Haag HS instead of Den Haag Central. I have found a Muslim community and a mosque there.

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^{Photos taken in Den Haag HS}

On Eid day, I woke up early and prepared myself for the day. As I said, I was determined to celebrate my day and ignore everything else around me. In my mind, I only put one thing and that was, I will celebrate Eid no matter what. I was also surprised that I can also control myself and can do things that I wanna do. Anyway, I took time to get ready and wear that beautiful white traditional dress.

You can see due to heavy medications, I have gained a lot of weight and it is visible on my face.

From Almere to Den Haag HS, it takes around one hour by train so the city is quite far away. I reached Haag HS around 3.00 pm (15.00) and started walking around. The weather was beautiful, the streets were not so busy and the atmosphere there was completely different. I saw a lot of Muslims spending time with their family and friends. Complete different atmosphere kind of encouraged me to stay calm and walk around.

^{Residential area in Den Haag HS}

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I took some beautiful photos of the street of Haag HS and also took some selfies of mine. It's been a while since I took photos of mine, I normally don't get ready like this now because of my depression and I kinda had lost myself in darkness. But on Eid day, I felt like I have found the light of my life; but of course for a small period of time.

The street you are seeing in the photos is famous for several Turkish and Afghani restaurants. This is basically a street full of restaurants, pubs, and cafes. Also, this street is located near the train station so easily anyone can go there.

I was hungry so before further exploration, I went to the Afghani restaurant to eat food. I ordered traditional rice (Kabuli Pulao) with Lamb, a sweet dish called Firni and Mantu. Trust me, the food was so delicious that I couldn't stop eating. I was craving such kind of food for a very long time. I felt like I didn't eat for months. Really delicious meal and sorry I didn't take any photos of the food. I will definitely visit there again so next time I will write a review of that restaurant indeed.

Now after having heavy lunch, it was quite difficult to walk around but I was quite energetic and enthusiastic so nothing didn't stop me from walking around wearing medium size heel shoes. I was living my best life there after so long.

^{Small Mosque (Moskee EL Mouhsinin) in Den Haag HS}

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After leaving the restaurant I started walking following the nearby street and saw this boutique shop that sells different attire. Basically, this kind of attire is worn by middle eastern people, I never wear this attire in my life. They look expensive. Also, I noticed the crowd nearby and I followed the crowd and found out that it was a mosque. Many Muslims have finished their prayers and was congratulating each other for Eid. It was nice to look at and felt like close to my tradition and culture. In Ukraine, especially in Kharkiv, I have never seen such kind of atmosphere.

While walking and enjoying the ambiance of the street, I suddenly found myself near the canal. The water of the canal was calm with a lot of boats but the canal side area was not busy at all. In Amsterdam, canals are busy and kinda dirty but this canal side area was clean and nice. Of course, fewer bicycle parking areas so the area was neat.

Beautiful flowers had made the canal view more lucrative and attractive. It was not so warm day so it was a pleasing walk.

^{More photos of the canal view in Den Haag HS}

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I spent some time near the canal area and observe the location, people, and myself as well. I kinda realize what I was missing in my present life, but sometimes it's hard to achieve what I desired.

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After thinking about some useless things, I started walking again following the canal, and discover a house which is a gem of the city. The house is called " C. Van. Balckeneynde" also known as "Claes Dircx van Balckeneynde House". He was a wealthy master carpenter, a city architect of The Hague and Noordeinde Palace in 1640, together with Pieter Post van Huis ten Bosch from 1646 and the Catshuis in 1652. source. His house is now a museum, which was built in 1638 following the Dutch classicism style.

Next time definitely gonna explore this museum too to know more about this master architect and carpenter whose contribution is unforgettable in the Netherlands.

I spent almost 5-6 hours in Den Haag wearing unusual shoes and my feet were hurting badly. So I stopped my curiosity and exploration and returned home safely without any trouble.

I am grateful for this day, to be honest, and this day encouraged me that I will be better definitely and can control my feelings with determination and effort in the future. I felt powerful and strong and I somehow found that old strong girl who is lost in the dark for a certain time. One thing I realized about myself and it is I am slowly discovering myself strongly in a new way and I can control my emotions as well.

This is a big achievement on Eid Day 2023 in the Netherlands.

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Love

Priyan...

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^{I am @priyanarc.... An architect, a dreamer, and a passionate writer who loves to write about life. I try to present my own perspective and experiences. Please leave your feedback and criticism because it's the only way I can know and reach your mind and thought easily...}

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All images used are captured by the author...