KUWAIT: Guraish is an annual traditional occasion that has been passed down from generation to generation throughout Kuwait's history, with Kuwaiti people marking it at home and workplaces at the end of the month of Sha'ban, which precedes the holy month of Ramadan. In the past, Kuwaiti women used to come together at homes to celebrate Guraish, an Arabic word which means generosity, but only in recent years it has become a social carnival thrown by friends and workmates.
Speaking to KUNA on the annual occasion, Maryam Al-Enezi, a banker, said that employees of different ages at ministries, government establishments, authorities, companies and banks are in the habit of throwing Guraish during the last five days of Shaaban. The customary event reflects some sort of closeness and intimacy among staffers and shows sticking to long-lasting social habits and traditions in Kuwait, Al-Enezi elaborated.
Actually, Guraish has remarkably developed from just a customary occasion to a widely celebrated social carnival that is chiefly meant for people to gear themselves up for the fasting month of Ramadan. Saad Al-Fayez, a civil servant, said that only family members, relatives and friends used to celebrate the occasion at home just to bid farewell to the daytime meals of breakfast and lunch, where women would come together bringing dishes with them.
Om Abdulaziz Madhi, a Kuwaiti woman, remembered that Guraish was nothing but a day for Kuwaiti families to come together in family leaders' houses, bringing with them food that could perish during Ramadan like dried fish and dried date, etc. Guraish, which used to be just a last meal ahead of the fasting month, has become over recent years a wonderful social occasion organized by employees at public and private institutions, she pointed out.
However, she believed that the main characteristics of Guraish have really become a thing of the past, developing from just simple meals cooked by women at home to big impressive ones served by restaurants. Mohammad Al-Rashed, a catering company employee, said restaurants and catering companies always receive so many orders from both public and private sectors to celebrate this traditional occasion.
Abdullah Abdullatif Al-Othman Heritage Center's Chief Anwar Al-Refaai said Guraish is part of habits and customs in Kuwait, marked by citizens during the last days of Shaaban in preparation for the holy fasting month. On the origin word of Guraish, he said some historians believe that it means generosity, relating it to the sound of coins, while others opine that it means a light meal. - KUNA