I was out with a friend of mine for coffee a couple of days ago and we were talking about how the number of ghabgas this year has been alot more than any other time before. In the past week alone, I have been to 8 ghabgas!! Twice I had to rush through a ghabga to catch another one.

Ghabgas are a very Kuwaiti thing, I just found out yesterday that it is not a concept that is popular in Saudi! Anyway, for those of you who dont know (SirAddi and others), a ghabga is like a dinner invitation in Ramadan. It comes between Futoor (breaking fast) and Suhoor (just before dawn) timewise, usually around 11pm or 12am. For many people, it replaced suhoor as a meal.
There are several types of ghabgas.

  • There are the big formal family diwaniya types, which happen once during Ramadan by each diwaniya, and there are  many many families in Kuwait, so it happens alot more that you would think. The main advantage of those ghabgat is that you get to see everyone all at once, since most of the ones ive been to have had more than 500 guests at least! The main disadvantage is the social obligations part where you cant miss a ghabga because its only a once a year thing, so it messes up your schedule throughout the month.
  • There is also the small diwaniya friends ghabga, which I prefer since most of the food is actually homemade, unlike the big diwaniya ghabgat where the food comes from restaurants or hotels. Also, the obvious comfort factor with the people in the ghabga as well as no formalities at all in clothes or anything else. The main disadvantage is that they happen almost on a daily basis and everyone expects you to attend their ghabga.
  • There is the corporate ghabgas, which also happen once a year, and the only ghabga I can think of where its mixed. These almost always happen in hotels, and at an earlier time that suits most of the women in the company.

Im sure there are other types of ghabgas but these are the ones I can remember attending recently.

Anyway, the interesting part about the discussion with my friend the other day was that he told me that he actually recieved an invitation to a ghabga! A printed personalized invitation just like wedding invitations! At first I couldnt believe it, its a bit overboard for a dinner invitation…..but then I realized its just another form of evolution in our society! Its an expected step after seeing how the children’s girgai3an has turned into a real business, as well as istiqbalaat and many other things I cant think of now!

I like the ghabgat idea, it makes you fat, but its a good social habit in our socity. I would hate to see it goes the way girgai3an and other things go, where it becomes a way of showing off.