Ramadan is a well known holiday around the world as it commemorates the time when Quran was first revealed to Muslim’s prophet Muhammad. People are also well aware that during Ramadan, Muslims do pray and observe fasting to respect their tradition. In fact, not only Muslims celebrate this tradition. Non Muslims also join the celebration by following different rules to show their Muslim friends and acquaintances that they do respect them.
What happens then after Ramadan? That’s a major question from most of us Non Muslims. Of course, Muslims know what comes after—the Eid celebration! Although Non Muslims don’t focus much on this, expats and tourists in Kuwait should be aware that this is considered a public holiday, thus a commemoration for Muslims. To understand more about the Eid Holiday, here’s the list of things we gathered for you.
Eid Holiday
The Eid Holiday is what comes after Ramadan. It signals the end of fasting and months of continues praying for Muslims. This is an important celebration because for Muslims, Eid means feasting! Additionally, the Eid Holiday starts the month of what they called Shawwal, the period of feasting after months of fasting.
Eid al-Fitr
Eid al-Fitr is another public holiday in the Islamic Calendar and also one of Eid holidays. During this holiday, everyone greets each other “Eid Mubarak” which means a “blessed celebration.” Even non Muslims join the greetings to reflect their respect. Also, people go out to buy different kinds of stuff like clothing, join festivals, and exchange gifts among families and friends during this holiday. One of the most noted ways Muslims do during Eid al-Fitr is going to Mosques to say their prayers.
Eid al-Adha
Other than Eid al-Fitr, Muslims also celebrate Eid al-Adha, another Eid holiday. This is to commemorate the time when Allah appeared in the dreams of Ibrahim to ask him to offer his son Ishmael to measure his faith, sounds the same as the story of Abraham and Isaac in Christian faith. Usually, this holiday is celebrated in the middle of 12th and last month of Islamic Calendar, about a month following Eid al-Fitr. Last year, it was celebrated from August 21, 2018 until August 25, 2018. During this holiday, Muslims sacrifice animals in different means depending on the provision of the country where they are residing.
Indeed, it is important to know what is happening around your environment especially if you are an expat or a tourist visiting Kuwait. Paying your respect would help you earn the trust of the people around you, especially the Muslims.