Valley Muslims celebrated the end of Ramadan with prayers, food and gifts to charity Friday morning at the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno.
The Eid al-Fitr feast marks the end of 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-dusk fasting. “Eid Mubarak” is a greeting and phrase used by Muslims during Eid and means “blessed Eid.”
In Muslim majority countries, capital cities commonly are decorated with lights commemorating the end of the holy month.
Children are dressed in new clothes and offered gifts and money to celebrate the occasion.
Five Pillars of Islam
Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. The pillars are the obligations every Muslim must satisfy to live a good and responsible life, according to Islam. The other pillars are faith, prayer, charity and making the pilgrimage to Mecca, the Holy City.
By fasting over an extended period of time, practicing Muslims aim to foster positive attitudes and values that they cultivate over the course of an entire year. Ramadan is often likened to a spiritual training camp.
The charitable gifts represent the money saved by fasting.
Ramadan 2019
This year Ramadan began in mid-May. It will begin in early May in 2019. That’s because an Islamic year is roughly 11 days shorter than a Gregorian calendar year.
