Eid

There are two Eids in an Islamic year. The first, Eid ul-Fitr, which means Festival of Happiness, comes at the end of the month of Ramadan after the new moon has been seen. And the second, Eid al-Adha, which means Festival of the Sacrifice, comes at the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca.

On the morning of both Eid’s, Muslims greet each other with ‘Eid Mubarak’, which means Happy Eid, and they are encouraged to ask people for forgiveness if they have ever wronged them, so you’ll probably see a lot more hugging that day.

Families will often have a small breakfast together and then go to the mosque. It is encouraged to wear either new clothes on the day of Eid or clean clothes if you can’t buy new clothes, and it is also encouraged for Muslims to have either a shower or a bath on the morning of Eid before going to the mosque so they can be nice and clean for the special day and prayer.

Many people like to walk to and from the mosque so they can greet as many people as they can on this happy day and because the Prophet advised that every Muslim who could physically come to the mosque for Eid prayer should do so, it gets really busy!  After the Eid prayer, there is a small reminder called a khutbah, this is a small talk, which is usually on the happiness of Eid day and the sadness of the passing of the month of Ramadan or the importance of the pilgrimage.

After the prayer and talk, many people like to hang around the mosque a little bit longer to catch up with people they may not have seen since the last Eid. After this, most people spend the day with their families and loved ones and often have a big meal together and play games or go out for the day with the family. Often, gifts and money are also exchanged between Muslims on Eid.

In the evenings, some Muslims after spending the morning with their family like to meet with their friends to celebrate with them. They may go out for a meal, or to the cinema. As you can see, it is very similar to the way we celebrate Christmas day in the UK!

Eid is also celebrated in different ways throughout the world. In some countries, they wear their traditional dress on Eid day.  Here is a picture of Muslims praying the Eid prayer in the main mosque in Indonesia, which is one of the largest mosques in Southeast Asia.  Around 50,000 thousand people come on that day.

In most Muslim countries, shops and restaurants are often closed for the day, like at Christmas, as it is a national holiday. This holiday can last from one day to around three or four days.

But in every Muslim or non Muslim country, all have in common the practise of visiting the mosque in the morning and spending the day celebrating with friends and family. Eid is seen as a joyous, family orientated and spiritual day for all.