Gergayan ou Girgian

Gergayan, which is the second week of Ramadan, when the kids dress up in adorable Arabic outfits and go house to house for treats (not unlike Halloween). It can be spelled in several different ways thus making it very difficult to Google :O) So I thought I'd give you a run down. 

First step is to find an outfit for your little one there are many places to find them here are just a few:

1. Awqaf Complex next to Centrepoint, Murgab

2. Souq Mubarikiya near the playground

3. Baboona  also at Baroue, Avenues

4. Souq Safat upstairs

5. City Centre, Salmiya

6. Seham's Studio (Instagram)

7. Peekaboo Kids Kaftans (Instagram)

8. Mishref Co-op



Boys outfits are usually a white dishdasha and colourful waistcoat and girls wear vibrant arabesque dresses/outfits. Most important is the bag to hold their sweety stash in. 

In cooler months it is quite common to see kids going house-to-house in Kuwaiti areas, they sing a little song and hopefuly will be rewarded with sweets, nuts and a few hundred fils coins. Last year my daughter and cousins were rewarded with ice creams and cold water which was much appreciated as it was so hot. Some parents even go a step further and hire a donkey/horse and cart to take the kids around the neighbourhood reminiscent of their own childhoods. 

The gergayan song.



Some of the malls put on gergayan events so look out for their schedules. 

This year, as the weather will be unbearably hot outside, my mother-in-law will have a smallish gergayan party at her house and the adults will throw huge baskets of sweets in the air for the kids to scramble on the floor for. Everyone gets involved even the maids are ready with their bags.


Top tip buy an outfit NOT scatchy or you'll never get your kid in it. Or try a cotton T underneath.