CAIRO -

As the sun sets on the last day of Ramadan, Egyptians begin their preparations to receive the feast, and their tongue echoes Umm Kulthum's masterpiece, "Oh, the night of Eid, miss us, and you renewed hope in us."

On the morning of the first day of Eid, "Ya Lailat Al-Eid" gives way to other joyful Eid songs, foremost of which is the icon of Eid songs sung by Safaa Abu Al-Saud, "Welcome, welcome to Eid, welcome to Eid, Eid is a joy and the most beautiful joy that brings together near and far."

Radio stations and television channels, as well as social media, are competing to broadcast these two songs in particular, for their ability to spread joy in Egyptian homes to celebrate the advent of Eid.

Despite the passage of decades since their production, "Ya Lailat El-Eid", and with it "Welcome to the Eid", remains the most famous, widespread and popular among different generations, and each of them has funny stories behind it.

oh feast night

Umm Kulthum was inspired by the beginning of the song "Ya Lailat El-Eid Anstina" from a street vendor who was calling his goods with this phrase that she liked, to ask the poet Bayram Al-Tunisi to write her a song about Eid, the beginning of which is this clip.

Al-Tunisi begins to write the song, but the disease overtakes him, so Umm Kulthum asks the poet Ahmed Rami to complete it, so that his words become the most popular among Eid songs for decades.

As the song had authors, it was composed by two of the great composers at this time, as Umm Kulthum sang it for the first time, composed by Zakaria Ahmed, live on the evening of Eid al-Adha in 1937 AH corresponding to the year 1937 AD.

Then Riad Al-Sunbati re-composed the song with the now-known melody, and the late singer sang it during the events of the movie "Dinar" in 1939.

The greatest echo of the song was when Umm Kulthum recited it at the celebration of the night of Eid al-Fitr in 1363 AH corresponding to the year 1944 AD in the Al-Ahly Club in the presence of King Farouk I.

The secret of "Saad Nabiha"

"Ya Lailat El-Eid" remained the most famous undisputed until the early eighties of the last century, before the song "Welcome to the Eid" by Safa Abu Al-Saud crowded it in its popularity and spread among Egyptians and Arabs alike.

The late composer Gamal Salama had mentioned in press statements a few years ago that he kept thinking about producing a children’s artwork about Eid, comparable to “Oh Night of Eid,” so he went to the poet Abdel Wahab Muhammad and asked him to write a song that would start with “Welcome, welcome to the holiday,” and he chose to sing it by Abu Al-Saud. .

Abu Al-Saud - who was famous at that time for singing for children - was not aware that the song, which she hesitated to accept at first for its simplicity, would enjoy such wide popularity among different generations until today.

The happy filming of the song - executed by director Magdi Abu Amira, and the realistic atmosphere of the feast in which it was celebrated - contributed to the increase in its popularity and spread.

And every Eid, a sense of humor and humor prevailed over the Egyptians, as they chanted the fun question about the “Saad Nabiha” character that appeared in the song, in reference to the phrase “We were happy with it,” which many mistakenly believed was talking about a person called “Saad Nabiha,” which increased its spread and success. The song, as confirmed by Abu Al-Saud in one of her television interviews.

Eid legacy

The success and popularity of the previous two songs overshadowed many other artworks that celebrate the advent of the feast, although the Egyptian singing heritage includes dozens of songs that describe the joy and joy of the feast and the customs of the Egyptians on holidays from visiting between family and loved ones, distributing Eid, hiking and even making Eid cakes.

One of the forgotten songs that did not gain fame among the Eid songs is the song "Hilal Al-Eid" by singer Nour Al-Huda, despite the beauty of its words written by Bayram Al-Tunisi and the strength of its melody set by the musician Farid Al-Atrash, who later presented the song with his voice.

And the lyrics of the song say, "Is the crescent of Eid on Islam happy, is his crescent upon us Mubarak Shakir Fadlallah, may God bless him, is the crescent of the feast upon us, the money of the world is joy and adornment, does Islam carry a thousand peaces, and from the year to the year comes a new victory."

The famous duo Sheikh Imam and the poet Ahmed Fouad Negm left an important imprint in the record of Eid songs with the song “In your light, O Crescent of Eid”, and among its words: In your light, O Crescent of Eid, Sven commoners fly between us.

Singer Mohamed Kandil presented several songs for the feast, including “Eid joys, oh lovers, you love us,” the beginning of which says, “Oh lovers, you love us on the feast. We performed the duty that we owed, and we thanked God for His favours.

Between Ramadan and Eid

If the Egyptians welcome Ramadan to the tunes of the song “Aho Jah Ya Walad” by the fun trio (an Egyptian female singing group that emerged in the fifties of the last century, and was distinguished by its light social work), they do not know that the same group presented several songs for the feast, but it did not achieve the same fame and spread.

Among the songs presented by the fun trio, "Welcome to the Eid", which says: Welcome to the Eid, welcome, your morning and evening joy and melodies, and we look forward to meeting you from the year to the year, O Eid, O Eid.

In addition to the songs of the Eid celebrations, Zaq (Pay) the swing, Happy New Year, Eid dress, and Hayatak, Baba and Dina Al Qanater.

And perhaps many Egyptians do not know that Sharifa Fadel, the owner of the most famous song in Farewell to Ramadan, “By God, it is still early, oh the month of fasting,” she sang for the feast entitled “God is my mother (my mother) on my dress,” but this work did not enjoy the same fame as the first song that was associated with the last days. of the holy month.

Eid Cakes

The Eid songs in the Egyptian heritage were not without wit and humor, especially with regard to the Eid cakes or “Kahk” as the Egyptians call it, some of which are monitored by the Jordanian music researcher Ziad Assaf in his book “The Forgotten in Arabic Singing.”

In his radio series, Sayed Al-Mallah, had sung several sketches about cakes, such as "All that the chickens ring, all that increases the heavens, no matter how much cheese we make, cakes are ready."

Al-Mallah presented another lyrical picture of the home-baking industry, not without complaining, "I have established factories in my house that produce kahka with kantar. I am not rich, gentlemen, but my wife, as usual, kneaded ardaba and increase."

And on the weight of the melody of the famous song “Ya Lailat Al-Eid”, the star of the band “Saa Lel Albok”, the actor Mohamed Youssef, famous for “Shakle”, presented a satirical picture of the Eid cakes, and sang “Oh, your Eid, you hurt us, you prank, and you work in us.” And Umm Al-Khair sold Cardan for your sake, O Kahk Eid.

In a more optimistic way, singer Mona Abdel-Ghani sang, "Al-Kahk knows its season, and Al-Ajwa embraces its sesame...He said, uh, and eh, Al-Kahk eh, the girls' inscription is drunk on it."

As for Horeya Hassan, she chose to sing for al-Ghariba (a type of Eid bakery famous among the Egyptians) and said, "Oh soft, oh strange, joy and close, is it Gana Eid, is it Gana Eid, and we welcomed it with our sweet and kind hearts."

childhood joy

If the song "Welcome to Eid" is directed at children in particular, some artists have tried to present other works aimed at children, but they did not gain the same popularity, including the song presented by actress Yasmine Abdel Aziz in the nineties entitled "Eid is our holiday and we will celebrate" and it was presented in an animated manner.

The generation of the eighties and nineties does not forget the song "Eid Eid", which came in the most famous children's series, "Boji and Tamtam", from the words of the poet Salah Jaheen.