Bayramlar ve kutlamalar

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, and in our town it's the biggest festival of the year. It's a tradition. Every year, the whole town walks down Main Street. Kids ride bikes with flags on them. It's a parade, but with a lot of dogs in tiny hats!

My dad takes us every year. We eat hot dogs and wait for the fireworks. They start at nine, and they're so loud that Grandpa always puts his hands over his ears.

My little brother has a sparkler. Last year he wrote his name in the air, but it only lasted two seconds. This year he says he'll write "Max" very fast. Good luck with that, Max.

This year I'm the one who has to carve the pumpkin. My nephew Eli wants a scary face with big teeth. I'm no artist, so it takes forever.

Two hours later, the pumpkin looks more surprised than scary. Eli says, "It looks like Grandma when she sees the bill!" He's right. I leave it.

At six o'clock he comes downstairs in his costume: a ghost made from a white sheet with two holes in it. We go trick or treat around the block. At every door a neighbor says, "Oh, what a scary ghost!" He gets a bag full of candy, and my pumpkin gets the biggest laugh of the night.

During Ramadan, we get together at Grandma's house in Dearborn every Friday. Tonight all my relatives are here, about thirty people, and the house is full of noise.

At sunset we break the fast with a date and a glass of water. Then comes the feast: soup, rice, chicken, samosas and baklava. I'm so hungry that I forget my manners.

My cousin Amira says she's not very hungry. Ten minutes later, she has finished two plates and she's looking at mine. Grandma laughs and says, "Eat, eat! There's plenty." There is, too. We'll be eating leftovers until next Tuesday.

In the afternoon, I put up the decorations in our Chicago apartment: lights, paper stars and a very sad balloon. Tonight we're going to stay up until midnight, and the place looks great.

At eleven fifty-eight, my roommate Luis says, "Let's count down!" He's reading the time on his phone. "Ten, nine, eight..." We shout, "Happy New Year!" and hug each other.

Then I look at the TV. The ball in Times Square hasn't dropped yet. Luis's phone is two minutes fast! The neighbors bang on the wall, and we start again, very quietly, two minutes later. This time it's real, and New York agrees with us.