RIYADH: Every year, Saudis prepare for Eid Al-Fitr festivities with great joy and excitement. For children it is both fun and new clothes, which parents buy for them.

With ten days to go until Eid Al-Fitr, shoppers were making a beeline to malls and other shopping complexes, especially after the Taraweeh prayer. Some families opted to change furniture and appliances in their homes which makes the furniture market vibrant.

Others took the opportunity to purchase new vehicles while the automobile sector makes use of the month as a great sales opportunity for various types of cars.

For traders, this is the high season for them, which is part of the typical market behavior. “When there is a big demand for any particular product, prices automatically shoot up,” said a salesman who introduced himself as Saleh Bawazeer.

He said new model abayas, currently selling between SR250-280, are priced at SR150 during the normal season. Also children’s clothing is more saleable during this period of time when families present them with new clothes to let them enjoy the spirit of the Eid festivities.

Both Arabs and expats head to the Masmak public market near Qasr Alhakm. Things there are cheaper there than other places.

This year both government and private sector employees received their salaries last week as a goodwill gesture to let them shop till they drop with their families to make purchases during the run up to the festivities.

“Celebration is just around the corner. After the long blessed days of fasting and long hectic days of training, everyone will be celebrating with the conclusion of the holy month,” said community leader Usodan Didaagun who works for Saudi Electricity Company.

He said, immediately after the Eid congregation, people of all backgrounds will leave their houses to mingle with one another in parks, at the seaside, malls and eateries. And while doing so, everybody has that shared feeling of being at peace, friendly and happy.

Saudis and non-Saudis, Muslims and non-Muslims, young and old folks will be helping realize the spirit of Eid Al-Fitr Al-Mubarak in their own little way.

“In Saudi Arabia, you can feel the message of joy during Eid. It is reverberating everywhere. Everyone will be contributing to the real meaning of joy and happiness brought about by the Eid festivities,” he added.

He adds: “The celebrations and the joy that the Eid brings signifies a new beginning for everyone. A new responsible individual, a more restrained person and an enriched God-conscious soul. With all this in mind, we are inevitably creating a community of individuals having commitments to do good, and nothing but good deeds. This promotes mutual understanding, respect and comradeship between and among residents in a community.”