Muslims around the world are celebrating the arrival of Eid al-Fitr, which commemorates the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
To celebratethe completion of the fastthere will be festivities lasting up to three days, where worshippers can gather, eat and exchange gifts.
This year’s Eid al-Fitr is being marked on Monday 2 May (a bank holiday in the UK), following the sighting of the crescent moon at the weekend.
Here’s how to greet somebody observing Eid, and everything you need to know about the festival.
How to wish someone ‘Happy Eid’
If you want to wish somebody “Happy Eid” this year, the traditional way would be togreet them with “Eid Mubarak”.
This is the Arabic phrase used by Muslims during bothEid al-Fitr and theEid al-Adhacelebrations which follow later in the year.
The Arabic word “mubarak” translates as “blessed,” while “Eid” means feast, festival or celebration, so“Eid Mubarak” can literally mean“blessed celebration” or “blessed feast”, although it is widely interpreted as simply wishing somebody a “happy Eid”
While you can specify “Eid al-Fitr Mubarak” or “Eid al-Adha Mubarak” to specify between the two festivals, simply saying “Eid Mubarak” is fine.
In exactly the same way, Muslims will often wish their fellow observers “Ramadan Mubarak” at the start of the holy month and throughout the fasting period.
“Ramadan Kareem” is less commonly used, but translates as “Generous Ramadan” – while the phrase can be used as a greeting in a similar way to “Ramadan Mubarak”, it can also describe Ramadan when referring to it in a wider context.
There is some debate around whether using “Ramadan Kareem” is appropriate, given that the expectation of generosity can be considered against the principles of fasting and prayer central to observing the holy month.
However, others argue that the greeting can appropriately refer to the generosity of acts towards others. Khaled Boudemagh, described by Gulf News as a Dubai-based language expert, said: “Ramadan is a month of generosity, therefore wish Kareem.”
Both “Mubarak” and “Kareem” are also given names in Arabic, which carry the same meanings as bestowed in the Eid and Ramadan greetings.
More on Ramadan
What is Eid al-Fitr?
Eid al-Fitr’s name comes from an Arabic term which translates as the “feast of breaking the fast” and, although not usually a public holiday in the UK (unless, like this year, it falls on a bank holiday), it is for many Muslim countries.
It is traditional for Muslims to gather together in a park to celebrate breaking their fast, with large-scale events and festival food (particularly sweet treats), prayer and stalls.
After Eid some Muslims decide to fast for the six days that follow. This stems from the Islamic belief that a good deed in Islam is rewarded 10 times, thus fasting for 30 days during Ramadan and six days during Shawwal creates a year’s worth of goodwill.
Eid al-Fitr traditionally begins the day after the sighting of the new crescent moon which marks the end of Ramadan and the onset of the month of Shawwal, the tenth of the Islamic Hijri calendar.
There is some debate as to whether the idea of a moon sighting should refer to you physically witnessing the moon in your region, which could be hampered by factors such as weather conditions, or whether to defer to sightings in Saudi Arabia or other regions.
