This year, Eid ul Fitr 2023 is expected to be celebrated on Friday, 21st of April 2023, or on Saturday, 22nd of April 2023. However, the exact date is subject to the sighting of the moon of Shawwal, 1444, the 10th month of the Islamic Calendar.
Eid al-Fitr (‘Holiday of Breaking the Fast’) is the earlier of the two official holidays celebrated within Islam (the other being Eid al-Adha). The religious holiday is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. It falls on the first day of Shawwal in the Islamic calendar; this does not always fall on the same Gregorian day, as the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based on when the new moon is sighted by local religious authorities. The holiday is known under various other names in different languages and countries around the world. The day is also called Lesser Eid, or simply Eid.
Eid al-Fitr has a particular salat (Islamic prayer) that consists of two rakats (units) generally performed in an open field or large hall. It may only be performed in congregation and features seven additional Takbirs (raising of the hands to the ears while saying “Allāhu ʾAkbar”, meaning “God is the greatest”) in the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam: three at the start of the first rakat and three just before rukuʿ in the second rakat. Other Sunni schools usually have 12 Takbirs, similarly split in groups of seven and five. In Shia Islam, the salat has six Takbirs in the first rakat at the end of qira’a, before rukūʿ, and five in the second. Depending on the juristic opinion of the locality, this salat is either farḍ, mustaḥabb (strongly recommended) or mandūb . After the salat, Muslims celebrate the Eid al-Fitr in various ways with food (“Eid cuisine”) being a central theme, which also gives the holiday the nickname “Sweet Eid” or “Sugar Feast”.
