This year, Eid al Fitr was celebrated on March 31st , 2025 to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan. The holiday was celebrated all around the world with the entire Muslim ummah (community) involved, but for many, this holiday came with significant challenges to face.
Eid is a sacred time for all Muslims around the world. It’s the marking of the end of the holy month of Ramadan. On Eid, Muslims go and visit family and friends to get together and enjoy their time sharing laughs, food, and exchanging gifts. Every Eid morning, families rush to the mosque for Eid prayers. At the mosque, many people from all over town come together to pray the Eid salah, listen to the special lecture, and give charity to the needy. Eid is a day where you forgive those who have hurt you in the past; it’s a way to start the new year fresh and being nice to everyone.
Due to many Muslim countries facing the horrors of war, Eid was significantly harder to celebrate with the challenges/circumstances they are going to face. This year, the people of Gaza are spending their second Eid al-Fitr after the start of the war. Many were observing their Ramadan under a fragile ceasefire that gave them false hope and happiness, yet due to the ceasefire ending, the people of Gaza are in danger again.
Many people and many cultures celebrate Eid differently. In Indonesia, people went back to their towns to celebrate this special day with loved ones. One of their special traditions is “Mudik,” a special homecoming for their people. In Malaysia, they also have a homecoming tradition as the first day of Eid is celebrated with Eid prayer, forgiving others, and visiting loved ones’ graves.
Egyptian families go to the mosque in the morning with a cheery festive atmosphere, visiting loved ones and going out to vacation spots to celebrate the holiday of Eid. Children and adults are dressed in traditional outerwear and receive “Ediya” and cash money gifts.
In the United States, Eid is celebrated in many different ways to celebrate the holiday of Eid due to everyone having diverse backgrounds and cultures, but despite the differences, everyone comes together as one big family to pray and enjoy many different festivities.
Here is a glimpse of how FMS members celebrates Eid . My fellow classmate Amna said, “For Eid, my family wakes up in the morning to goes to the masjid to pray and then after we go out for breakfast at IHOP.”
Then I asked Ms. S how she celebrates her Eid. “We start off with early Eid salah dressed up in fancy, flowy abayas and dresses and go out for coffee. After we come home for the famous “Eid Nap”. Later on in the evening, we meet up with close friends and family at Bowlero to bowl and play arcade games.”
