Hari Raya Puasa
The Fasting Month Of Ramadan - Ramadan falls on the 9th month of the Islamic year. Puasa is Malay for "fasting". Fasting in Islam means abstaining from eating, drinking, smoking and indulging in any form of behaviour that serves to nullify the fast. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and perform religious duties, such as reading the Quran.
Hari Raya Puasa marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. It is a time of forgiveness within the Muslim community and a time for strengthening of bonds amongst relatives and friends. New clothes, decorated houses and exchange of invitations between friends and relatives commemorate Hari Raya Puasa.
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Hari Raya Puasa
Hari Raya Puasa, or known to others as Aidil Fitri, is a very important religious day on the Muslim calendar. This Malay festival in Singapore is celebrated at the end of the Ramadan period, the month after fasting and alms giving for the Muslims. Hari Raya falls on the 10th month of the Muslim calendar, call the Hijrah calendar. With only 354 days and employs no significant leap year, the lunar-based Hijrah calendar can fall on any months of the solar calendar.
A visit to Geylang Serai Market or Kampong Glam is a good experience to have during this period, especially in the late afternoon when they come together to break fast.
The celebrations start with the birth of the new moon of Syawal - the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims would attend sessions of prayers in the mosque early in the morning. By noon, they will put on their best outfits and are ready to visit their friends and relatives for a thanksgiving feast.
Signifying the 'openness' of the heart and mind, Hari Raya Puasa in a multi-cultural country like Singapore is often celebrated with the practice of Muslims inviting their non-Muslim friends to join in the festivities.
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Hari Raya Puasa
Hari Raya Puasa is a very important occasion celebrated by all Muslims over the world. The words ‘Hari Raya’ mean 'day of celebration.' Hari Raya Puasa is often mistaken to be the Muslim New Year but it is not. It marks the end of the month of Ramadan.
Ramadan
Ramadan is the name of the one month fasting period when Muslims fast daily for a period of almost 12 hours from dawn till sunset. During the period of fasting, apart from eating and drinking Muslims are also forbidden from smoking and having sexual relations.
The sick are excused from fasting during this month. Muslims are also expected to avoid lying or cheating during Ramadan. The principal reason for the fasting during Ramadan is to remind Muslims of self-control and submitting to Allah, the holy one. Even young kids are taught to fast when they are young.
Preparations for the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast
In a country such as Singapore where there is a large number of Muslims, Hari Raya preparations are visible from about one month before the festival. Geylang Serai, the place where Muslims traditionally gather, is filled with large crowds during Ramadan. Bazaars are set up selling various festive items for Muslims.
At night the place is lit up with glittering lights. Most of the Muslims go here to buy the food to bring home to eat when they are allowed to break the fast.
Celebrations
During Ramadan. Women start to sew beautiful curtains and buy new clothes for the family. Some families also do renovation so that their home will look better when any guests visit it during the festival. After fulfilling their one-month of fasting, the Muslims are joyful to celebrate Hari Raya Puasa. On the morning of the festival, the Muslims wear their new clothes and go to the mosque to pray. They offer their thanks to God and after that they would ask for forgiveness from their elders.
They feel that asking forgiveness from their elders is an important ritual. On the day, they also visit their relatives and friends to celebrate the happy occasion. If you visit Muslims' homes on Hari Raya Puasa you can expect to taste a wide variety of delicious spicy dishes. Some favorite dishes that can be found in Muslims homes on this special occasion are ketupat, lontong, nasi padang and beef rendang. The Muslims also have the habit of giving packets of money to kids when they go visiting. The packets are usually be in green color and children often look forward to getting these money tokens on Hari Raya Puasa.
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Eid ul-Fitr 26 June 2017 Monday
The festival of Eid al-Fitr, the Festival of Fast breaking, marks the end of Ramadan.
Ramadan is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith and is sacred to Muslims as it was during this month that the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
As the date of Eid depends on the sighting of the moon, there may be variations in the exact date that is celebrated around the world. The announcing of the exact date of Eid may not happen until close to the start of Ramadan.
The table 'Who observes Eid ul-Fitr?' (see right) shows which day is start of Eid in each country covered by officeholidays.com that observes Eid. For a list of holidays per day over the period of Eid ul-Fitr, please check our full list of 2016 Eid al-Fitr holidays by day
Please click on a country name in the table to see the details of Eid holidays in that country.
Muslims celebrate Eid by saying prayers, giving money to the poor, sending Eid greetings and feasting with their families.
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Eid al-Fitr
Eid al-Fitr عيد الفطر (Feast of Breaking the Fast)
Arabic: عيد الفطر ʻĪd al-Fiṭr, IPA: [ʕiːd al fitˤr], "festival of breaking of the fast", also called Feast of Breaking the Fast, the Sugar Feast, Bayram (Bajram), the Sweet festival and the Lesser Eid, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). The religious Eid is a single day and Muslims are not permitted to fast that day. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan.
The day of Eid, therefore, falls on the first day of the month of Shawwal. This is a day when Muslims around the world show a common goal of unity. The date for the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based on the observation of new moon by local religious authorities, so the exact day of celebration varies by locality.
However in most countries, it is generally celebrated on the same day as Saudi Arabia.
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