Eids

From Alhannah

Sunni Islam has two major annual festivals, called 'Eids.

'Eid al Fitr

'Eid al Fitr, the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast, marks the end of the month of Ramadan and the end of daily fasting. This 'Eid begins the day after the new moon is sighted, indicating the lunar month of Shawwal has begun, and festivities generally last three days.

Expected dates

In the Muslim, lunar calendar 'Eid al Fitr's dates are fixed: 1-3 Shawwal. However, it is difficult to predict on which day in our Gregorian, solar calendar 1 Shawwal will fall; since it depends on the physical sighting of the new moon, the first day of 'Eid can change at the last moment. You are advised to consult HR when making traveling plans over the Eid holidays. The following dates, however, are the expected dates of 1 Shawwal in the next few years:

October 24, 2006
October 13, 2007
October 1, 2008
September 21, 2009
September 10, 2010

External links

Wikipedia article on 'Eid al Fitr

'Eid al Adha

'Eid al Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, falls on the tenth day of the month of Hijjah. It commemorates the prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his own son at God's command. Muslims around the world recall this devotion by sacrificing animals and distributing a third of the meat to their neighbors and a third to the poor.

Expected dates

As with 'Eid al Fitr, these are only estimates of when 10 Hijjah will fall in the Gregorian calendar: