Muslims worldwide celebrate end of Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr

New crescent moon signals end of Ramadan

Ramadan, a period during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, lasts one lunar cycle and ends with the confirmed sighting of the next crescent moon. Adherents celebrate the end of the holy month with the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Image: Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images

A time of gift-giving

Eid al-Fitr, which lasts three days, is a spiritual and social holiday that celebrates the monthlong self-purification and devotion to Allah practiced during Ramadan. Traditionally, Muslims dress up for Eid al-Fitr and children are given money, sweets, clothes or jewelry.

Image: SOPA Images/picture alliance

Morning prayer

The Salat al-Eid morning prayer marks the beginning of Eid Al-Fitr and is followed by the first daylight breakfast after four weeks of fasting. Here, women are seen performing the prayer in Bandung, Indonesia.

Image: Dimas Rachmatsyah/Zumapress/picture alliance

Mass prayers all over the world

A drone is the only way to photograph the huge crowd gathered on Skanderbeg Square in Albania's capital Tirana for Eid al-Fitr prayers.

Image: Florion Goga/REUTERS

A drone view of Albanian Muslims attending Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Henna on hands

It's common to see Muslim women with intricate henna designs painted on hands and arms for Eid al-Fitr. Applying henna is also customary during weddings. The tradition dates to the Levant.

Image: Fareed Khan/AP/picture alliance

A woman shows her hands covered in henna designs

Sharing the wealth

Giving to people who need help plays a big role during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. Indeed, Zakat — one of the five pillars of Islam — obliges Muslims to donate a portion of their wealth to charity.

Image: Mohd Asri Saifuddin Mamat/dpa/picture alliance

Two men are seen from above, one hands money to the othera

Feeding the poor

Volunteers from an NGO in Cape Town ensure that even the poorest can take part in the ritual of breaking the fast. Here they prepare dishes for needy families in over 180 cooking pots.

Image: Esa Alexander/REUTERS

Volunteers from Cape Town's NGO, Nakhlistan help to prepare more than 180 pots of food for less fortunate families to celebrate the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in Cape Town, South Africa,

Commemorating the dead

Eid al-Fitr is not just a celebration. This period is also time to settle disputes and commemorate the deceased. Many make time to visit cemeteries and pray for the dead. Pictured here is a Muslim graveyard outside the Old Town of Jerusalem.

Image: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

Two Muslims are seen at a cemetery in Jerusalem

Seeking pleasure in Baghdad

This Iraqi woman watches the hustle and bustle in Baghdad's largest amusement park, which attracts many of the city's inhabitants after the month of fasting.

Image: Ameer Al-Mohammedawi/dpa/picture alliance

A woman watches a ferris wheel in an amusement park in Baghdad, Iraq.

In full regalia

Magnificently decorated horsemen from the Zazzau Emirate, a traditional state in Nigeria, celebrate a ritual in Kaduna to mark the end of Ramadan.

Image: Marvellous Durowaiye/REUTERS

Muslims who are part of the Zazzau Emirates celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, in Kaduna, Nigeria.

Celebrating Eid in times of hardship

Muslims all over the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr, though some perhaps more exuberantly than others. Seen here are children praying outdoors at a south Gaza refugee camp near the border with Egypt.

Image: Jehad Alshrafi/AA/picture alliance

Regions

Topics

Categories

Muslims around the world mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr. The celebrations begin at sunset at the sighting of the first crescent moon.