--- title: "What Is Eid? The Two Muslim Festivals | Islam Is Mercy" description: "Eid means festival. Muslims celebrate two: Eid al-Fitr after Ramadan and Eid al-Adha during the Hajj season, with prayer, family, food and charity." lang: en url: https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/eid/ --- 1. [Home](https://islamismercy.com/en/) 2. [Glossary](https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/) 3. What Is Eid? The Two Muslim Festivals # What Is Eid? The Two Muslim Festivals Written by **Islam Is Mercy Editorial Team**· 1 min readAwaiting scholar review ## The short answer Eid means "festival" or "a day that returns". Muslims have two main festivals: Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice during the Hajj season. Both begin with a special prayer and are days of gratitude, family, food, gifts and charity. ## On this page 1. Meaning 2. How Muslims celebrate 3. Example **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… [Sunan Abi Dawud 1134](https://sunnah.com/abudawud/2#:~:text=people%20had%20two%20days%20on)Grade: Sahih — Al-Albani - **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)](https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/sawm/), and for Eid al-Adha’s season, [Hajj](https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/hajj/). ## Key takeaways - Eid means festival; Muslims celebrate two Eids each year. - Eid al-Fitr ends Ramadan; Eid al-Adha falls during the Hajj season. - Both are days of prayer, gratitude, family, generosity and joy. ## Share this article [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/?text=What%20Is%20Eid%3F%20The%20Two%20Muslim%20Festivals%20https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fglossary%2Feid%2F)[Telegram](https://t.me/share/url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fglossary%2Feid%2F&text=What%20Is%20Eid%3F%20The%20Two%20Muslim%20Festivals)[X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=What%20Is%20Eid%3F%20The%20Two%20Muslim%20Festivals&url=https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fglossary%2Feid%2F)[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fglossary%2Feid%2F) ## Sources - [Sunan Abi Dawud 1134](https://sunnah.com/abudawud/2#:~:text=people%20had%20two%20days%20on) ## Talk to a Muslim Have a question that isn't answered here? Ask a real person — no pressure, no judgement. [Ask your question](https://islamismercy.com/en/talk/) ## Keep reading [Glossary ### Sawm — Fasting in Islam Sawm is the Islamic fast: no food, drink or marital relations from dawn to sunset. Fasting in Ramadan is the fourth Pillar of Islam. Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/sawm/)[Glossary ### Hajj — The Pilgrimage to Makkah Hajj is the pilgrimage to Makkah that every able Muslim makes once in a lifetime. It is the fifth Pillar of Islam and recalls Abraham. Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/hajj/)[Start Here ### The Five Pillars of Islam The five pillars of Islam — faith, prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage — explained simply: what they are, how Muslims practise them, and why. Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/start/five-pillars-of-islam/)