What Is Eid? The Two Muslim Festivals

Eid (Arabic: عيد) is pronounced EED. It comes from a root meaning “to return”, because it comes back every year.

Meaning

Islam has two main annual festivals. When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Medina, he found people celebrating two old festival days, and he told them:

…Allah has substituted for them something better than them, the day of sacrifice and the day of the breaking of the fast…

• Eid al-Fitr, “the festival of breaking the fast”, is celebrated on the day after Ramadan ends. Before the Eid prayer, a small charity called zakat al-fitr is given on behalf of each member of the family (Bukhari 1503), so that the poor can celebrate too.
• Eid al-Adha, “the festival of sacrifice”, falls during the Hajj season. It remembers Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God, and God’s mercy in ransoming the son with a great sacrifice (Qur’an 37:107). Families who can afford it sacrifice an animal and share the meat with relatives, neighbours and the poor.

Because the Islamic calendar follows the moon, both Eids move about eleven days earlier each year in the Western calendar.

How Muslims celebrate

On Eid morning, Muslims bathe, wear their best clothes, and gather — often in large open spaces or mosques — for a special Eid prayer and short sermon. Then come visits to family and friends, festive meals, gifts and sweets for children. Fasting on the days of Eid is not allowed (Bukhari 1991): they are days to enjoy God’s blessings.

Example

“Eid Mubarak!” — “Blessed Eid!”, the most common greeting of the day.

To learn about the month Eid al-Fitr completes, see Sawm (Fasting), and for Eid al-Adha’s season, Hajj.