Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf Arab states are celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday as of Sunday but other Middle Eastern countries will not do so until Monday.
“The Supreme Court has decided that tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, 2025, is the first day of Eid al-Fitr,” the Saudi Royal Court said in a statement carried by official media.
The timing of the holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.
Saudi Arabia was joined by Muslims in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as in Europe.
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In Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, pictures showed how part of a whole boulevard was occupied by praying worshippers.
Celebrations overshadowed by Gaza atrocities
In some countries, like Oman, Jordan and Shiite-majority Iran, Eid al-Fitr will not begin until Monday because the crescent moon has yet to be sighted. Egypt and other North African countries are doing the same.
During Ramadan, observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.
Fasting is widely practised in Saudi Arabia, home of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.
Across the Muslim world, Ramadan festivities this year were overshadowed by Israel’s resumption of hostilities in Gaza, where its military campaign to eradicate Hamas has killed tens of thousands of people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr prayer in Deir al-Balah, on the Gaza Strip, on March 30, 2025. © Abdel Kareem Hana, AP
In an emotional message posted on X, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, expressed his best wishes for Eid to the world’s Muslim community.
“But I do so with a heavy heart, thinking about the many Muslims who won’t be able to celebrate Eid with their families due to war, conflict or displacement. Eid is a moment to value solidarity and compassion – and I hope this moment will bring people together to make these values a reality,” he wrote.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
