Muslims across the world are happily celebrating the Festival of Fast-breaking or Eid Al- Fitr (in Arabic), marking the end of the holy month of fasting, Ramadan.
The First Eid Ever
The blessed three-day long festival was celebrated for the first time in Islam in the second year of Prophet Muhammad’s migration from Makkah to Madinah after fasting the first Ramadan in Islam.
This significant religious occasion means a lot to Muslims. It is not only for entertainment and having fun, but also it is a great opportunity to show gratitude to Allah for His innumerable blessings and for the help and strength He gave them throughout the month of Ramadan to help them practice the mandatory fasting successfully.
Prayer and Festivity
Muslims start the day of Eid with performing a special prayer that is called “Salatul Eid”. Wearing new clothes, they gather in open spaces to perform the prayer which is followed by a small sermon, in which the Imam reminds them of Allah’s blessings and asks Allah for forgiveness and guidance.
Besides Eid prayer and giving Zakat, which is a charity that must be given to the poor before Eid starts, spreading happiness and sharing love and enjoying fast breaking are also important elements of Eid celebrations.
Muslims perform Salah, greet each other wishing happy and blessed Eid by saying “ Eid Mubarak” to each other and distribute sweet treats, nuts, small gifts and colorful balloons to children. After that, they go to visit their relatives and friends.
Sweets – The Common Food
There are also some special foods that really mark the Eid Al-Fitr which vary from country to another, but in general, sweets are the most favorite food for Muslims during Eid.
Each country has its traditional dish of Eid, for example, Eid cookies (Kahk Al-Eid), which are often covered in powdered sugar, are the most famous food in Egypt and lots of families used to bake them at home, in gulf and Levantine countries, there are other kind of cookies which are called “ Maamoul”.
In Somali and Djibouti, there is what they call “ Cambaabur” which is a type of bread that is usually served sweet with sprinkled sugar and topped with yogurt, in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, Sheer Khurma is Eid favorite dessert which is prepared with vermicelli, milk, sugar and dates, in Bosnia, Tufahija is the favorite which consists of poached apple served in a glass filled with syrup and topped with whipped cream.
Tufahija is a dessert enjoyed by several Bosnians on Eid. It’s drenched in sugar and stuffed with walnut. It is often served elaborately in a large individual glass filled with syrup and topped with whipped cream. A very sweet way of celebrating the end of the fast.
This year and due to coronavirus outbreaking across the world, celebrating Eid will be different as Muslims will have to celebrate at their homes; they even will not be allowed to gather in the open spaces to perform Eid prayer as usual; relatives and family members who live in different countries away from each other will not be able to gather and exchange warm hugs as they used to do in every Eid.
However, Muslims around the world never lose hope, asking Allah for getting back to their normal life soon.