Evangelism and Missions

When is Eid al-Fitr 2016?

Eid al-Fitr is the Islamic celebration to mark the end of Ramadan, Muslims’ month of fasting.

In the UK Eid al-Fitr will start on Wednesday 6 July and run for three days until Friday 8 July.

But timings around the world are more complex. Because the month of Ramadan and the Islamic calendar are based on the moon, it is sometimes difficult to tell when the fast will end and the party begins.


Reuters – Eid al-Fitr begins when the new moon is spotted, marking the end of the Islamic fast of Ramadan.

Technically the fast is over when Muslims catch the first glimpse of the new moon in the sky, marking the beginning of the next month of Shawwal. Some will wait until they have seen the new moon themselves but many will judge it based on the calculated time in their country or by the declaration from Saudi Arabia.

Countries celebrate Eid al-Fitr at different times, depending on when the moon appears for them.

The USA and Canada will share the same dates for Eid al-Fitr as the UK so most Western Muslims will celebrate together on 6th, 7th, 8th July.

But other countries vary in both when they start Eid and how long it lasts for. Indeed for many Islamic countries it is the main event in their annual calendar and is celebrated with several days of public holiday.

Below are the dates for some other countries.

– Saudi Arabia: 11-day holiday from Thursday June 30 until Sunday July 10.

– Qatar: 11-day holiday from Sunday July 3 until Monday July 11, including the July 1-2 weekend.

– UAE and Bangladesh: nine-day holiday from Friday July 1 until Saturday July 9.

Related

– Oman: five-day holiday from Tuesday July 5, until Saturday July 9.

– Pakistan: four-day holiday from Tuesday July 5, until Friday July 8.

– Turkey: nine-day holiday from Saturday July 2 until Sunday July 10.

You can find out all you need to know about what Muslims do on Eid al-Fitr here.

Original Article

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