What is Eid al-Fitr and how do Muslims celebrate it? 6 questions answered
Muslim women at a prayer service at a mosque in Redmond, Washington, to mark the end of Ramadan and the start of Eid-al-Fitr in 2016. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Ken Chitwood, Concordia College New York
Editor’s note: Muslims all over the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, one of the religion’s principal festivals. In July, Muslims will celebrate Eid al-Adha. Ken Chitwood, a scholar of global Islam, explains the two Islamic festivals.
1. What is Eid?
Eid literally means a “festival” or “feast” in Arabic. There are two major eids in the Islamic calendar per year – Eid al-Fitr earlier in the year and Eid al-Adha later.
Eid al-Fitr is a three-day-long festival and is known as the “Lesser” or “Smaller Eid” when compared to Eid al-Adha, which is four-days-long and is known as the “Gr...