DailynewsegyptDailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt July 11, 2025
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Egypt, China central banks sign pacts to boost yuan use, payment systems
    Egypt, China central banks sign pacts to boost yuan use, payment systems
    July 10, 2025
    Suez Canal Authority, ALCOR Line discuss boosting vessel transits, ship maintenance cooperation
    Suez Canal Authority, ALCOR Line discuss boosting vessel transits, ship maintenance cooperation
    July 9, 2025
    Egypt's Aviation Minister, German ambassador talk airport partnerships
    Egypt’s Aviation Minister, German ambassador talk airport partnerships
    July 9, 2025
    Environment ministry signs agreement to strengthen marine protection, promote ecotourism
    Environment ministry signs agreement to strengthen marine protection, promote ecotourism
    July 9, 2025
    EGP 600m allocated to employment under Agreement on Tackling Irregular Migration
    EGP 600m allocated to employment under Agreement on Tackling Irregular Migration
    July 9, 2025
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Gaza under siege, fire: Resistance intensifies amid deepening humanitarian collapse
    Gaza under siege, fire: Resistance intensifies amid deepening humanitarian collapse
    July 9, 2025
    Escalation in Gaza as ceasefire talks remain fragile amid mounting humanitarian crisis
    Escalation in Gaza as ceasefire talks remain fragile amid mounting humanitarian crisis
    July 8, 2025
    Egyptian authorities race to contain fallout from fatal telecom fire
    Egyptian authorities race to contain fallout from fatal telecom fire
    July 8, 2025
    The B-2 Gamble: How Israel is Rewriting Middle East Power Politics
    Opinion | The B-2 Gamble: How Israel is Rewriting Middle East Power Politics
    July 8, 2025
    From Harvard to Berkeley: The Federal War on American Universities
    Opinion | From Harvard to Berkeley: The Federal War on American Universities
    July 8, 2025
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    Nancy Ajram
    Nancy Ajram: Singing in Morocco has unique magic — ‘Warana Eih’ signals new chapter
    July 9, 2025
    From Al Mashroa X to The Seven Dogs: Karim Abdel Aziz charts new era for Egyptian film
    From Al Mashroa X to The Seven Dogs: Karim Abdel Aziz charts new era for Egyptian film
    July 1, 2025
    Rania Yehia
    When Egypt strikes chord in Rome: Rania Yehia and symphony of cultural diplomacy
    June 18, 2025
    Culture remains enduring constant at heart of resistance: Mohamed Salmawy
    Culture remains enduring constant at heart of resistance: Mohamed Salmawy
    June 11, 2025
    Iwan Stella
    Egypt poised to lead regional 5G expansion, eyes additional spectrum, SME inclusion: Ericsson
    June 10, 2025
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Font ResizerAa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Search
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Follow US
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > Culture > With increasing prices, Egyptian celebration of El-Mawled El-Nabawi dims 
Culture

With increasing prices, Egyptian celebration of El-Mawled El-Nabawi dims 

Daily News Egypt
Last updated: November 28, 2017 7:27 pm
Daily News Egypt
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

Celebrating the birth of the Prophet Mohammed, “El-Mawled El-Nabawi”, is a huge Islamic celebration that sees preparations in Islamic countries months before its date. In Egypt, just like any other spiritual ceremony, celebrations have a unique taste, different forms, and inherited legacies in the forms of celebrating the birthday of Islam’s messenger. Coloured lamps hang on trees, brightly lighting streets, Islamic chanting airs from radio stations, and most significantly, “Arouset El-Mouled” (the bride doll of the birth date) and “Halawet El-Mouled” (the birth date’s special sweetened nuts).

Egypt is the only Islamic country known for having Arouset EL-Mouled and Halawet El-Mouled as an inseparable part of celebrating the event; a traditional heritage that is currently facing a huge challenge to sustain itself in Egyptian society due to the crazy hikes in their prices.

Ever since the current tradition came into existence for the first time in the Fatimid era, not a single year passed without millions of Egyptians rushing to purchase the doll and sweets of the Mouled for their children. Nonetheless, after the prices saw an almost 20% increase since last year, causing doll prices to reach up to EGP 500 and a box of Halawet El-Mouled costing up to EGP 1,500, the situation has changed.

Since the floatation of the Egyptian Pound, prices of exported nuts have increased, exceeding double the price, leaving any sort of sweet they are included in extremely expensive. As for the doll, its categorisation under exported products raises its prices to an extent never witnessed before.

Dealing with the crisis, Egyptians turned to buying separate individual bars of Halawet El-Mouled aiming to buy the types they love the most, instead of a whole wrapped box containing all kinds of sweetened nuts. As for Arouset El-Mouled, getting smaller size dolls was the option most Egyptians turned to, and for those who still could not afford it, making their own decorated Arouset El-Mouled out of coloured cards was the only option they had.

The story of how Arouset Al-Mouled found its way into the history books differs from one source to another. The most popular theory states that Fatimid ruler Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah went with one of his wives to celebrate El-Mawled El-Nabawi with the public. His wife looked so beautiful wearing a white gown that a confectionary artist modelled a doll out of honey to emulate her look. As for Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, he was portrayed as a knight on his horse, which came to be known as “Housan Al-Mawled” (the horse of the birth date) afterwards.

The couple was commemorated long after their death through the doll and the horse that became the traditional gifts and toys of El-Mawled El-Nabawi.

Both the doll and horse were made out of eatable honey up until the 1990s. However, when the invasion of plastic dolls took over local markets, people started replacing sweets with actual dolls. Soon after, people started only purchasing Arouset El-Mouled, leading the horse to disappear.

When it comes to Halawet El-Moulid, it is said that the Fatimid rulers used to influence and abate the masses by distributing sweets made of a mixture of nuts and honey. The sweets were mostly distributed during El-Mawled El-Nabawi and soon, it became an inseparable part of the annual celebration.

All photos taken by Ahmed Hendawy.

To follow Daily News Egypt on WhatsApp press here

To follow Daily News Egypt on Telegram press here

"Super-Recognizers" to make Munich Oktoberfest 2018 safer
Fashionably featuring beguiling beauty of Maasai people
Natalie Portman, Ryan Gosling to shine at Venice Film Festival
Cairo to host international caricature exhibition celebrating Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary
‘Microphone’ hits the right note in unconventional ode to Alexandria music
TAGGED:El-Mawled El-NabawiProphet Mohammed
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print

You Might Also Like

Culture

Two new words for Hollywood: inclusion rider

March 7, 2018

Thoughts about the post-revolution culture

October 19, 2012
Culture

Minister of Culture does not approve of ‘fat employees’

April 15, 2015

Vatican archive treasures go on show for first time

August 7, 2012
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • home
  • Advertise with us
  • Developers
  • Subscribe with us
  • careers
  • Terms of service
  • Get In Touch
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?