CELEBRATING EID

Eid is a Muslim festival. Eid means ‘festival’ in Arabic,

and Eid al-Fitr translates as ‘the festival of breaking the
fast’. Eid al-Fitr, or ‘Lesser Eid’ is the first of two holidays
that follow Ramadan. The Greater Eid, Eid al-Adha, is a
longer festival which lasts around four days.

Eid al-Fitr falls at the end of the fasting month of

Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to
sundown. This is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar
calendar. The beginning of Ramadan is marked by a
crescent moon, and the ending of the month of Ramadan
is declared when a crescent, new moon is sighted.

This means the date of Eid changes each year.

Additionally, some people choose to estimate when the
crescent moon will appear, whereas others wait until they
have seen the crescent moon for themselves before they
start celebrating.
 3 INTERESTING FACTS ON EID AL - FITR

1. Eid has many different names or nicknames around

the world. Other names include Sweet Eid, Lesser Eid
and Sugar Feast.
2. The special Eid greeting, ‘Eid Mubarak’, means ‘may it
be blessed’. In the Middle East, many people also
exchange the Arabic greetings of “Eid Saeed” or “Kul
'aam wa antum bi'khair”. These translate to “happy
celebration” and “may I find you well and in good
health every year”, respectively.
3. Moons are used to symbolise Eid al-Fitr, and you can
find them on many decorations and greetings cards.
This is due to the crescent moon marking the start of
the new month and the breaking of the Ramadan fast.