Eid El Fitr or The Fist of Ramadan's ending

The word Eid is an Arabic name that means a festivity, a celebration, a recurring happiness, and a feast. In Islam, there are two major Eids namely "Eid al-Fitr" (Festival of Breaking the Fast) celebrating the end of Ramadan and "Eid al-Adha" (Festival of Sacrifice) which coincides with the Hajj and commemorates prophet Abraham’s sacrifice of a sheep in place of prophet Ishmael.

Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims after fasting the month of Ramadan as a matter of thanks and gratitude to Almighty Allah. 

It takes place on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the lunar calendar. Eid al-Fitr is a happy celebration with new clothes, gifts, and plenty of good food. Though technically, Eid al-Fitr is one day, Eid festivities usually last three days in Egypt with vacations for schools, universities and government offices. Some stores and restaurants are closed during Eid, too.

The Eid day starts with a small snack followed by Eid Prayers(Salat al-Eid) in congregation attended by men, women and children. Afterwards neighbors, friends and relatives start greeting each other.The most common greeting is "Eid Mubarak" (Have a blessed Eid). 

Children are normally given gifts, which traditionally are new clothes to wear throughout the Eid. Also, women (particularly mothers, wives, sisters and daughters) are commonly given special gifts by their loved ones.

It is customary for children to also receive a "Eidyah" from their grown-up relatives. This is a small sum of money that the children receive, to spend on all their activities throughout the Eid. Children wear their new clothes and go out to amusement parks, gardens or public courtyards based on how much their Eidyah affords. The amusement parks can range from the huge ones on the outskirts of Cairo - Nile, felucca Nile rides is one common feature of Eid celebration in Egyptian villages, towns and cities. For a lot of families from working neighborhoods, Eid celebration also to small mobile neighborhood rides consisting of swings, much like a neighborhood carnival. In a lot of neighborhood courtyards, kids also gather around a storyteller, a puppeteer or a magician mesmerized by Egyptian folktales or by a grownup’s sleight of hand. It is also customary for kids to rent decorated bikes to ride around town.

Eid is a time for family gatherings and since a lot of Egyptian city dwellers are first or second generation immigrants from towns and villages, those gatherings can involve traveling and thus it is the busiest time of the year for highways and trains. Since most Egyptians live in close proximity to the includes picnics in green areas including parks, zoos, botanical gardens and even green islands on major roads.

The families gatherings involve cooking and eating all kinds of Egyptian food but the item most associated with Eid al-Fitr are Kahk (singuler=Kahka) which are cookies filled with nuts and covered with sugar powder. Egyptians either bake it at home or buy it in the bakery. Thus, a bakery crowded in the last few days of Ramadan with Kahk buyers is a common scene. TV in Egypt celebrates Eid, too, with a continuous marathon of movies as well as programs featuring live interviews from all over Egypt of both public figures and everyday citizens, sharing their Eid celebrations.

Islamic feast Celebration in Egypt

Eid el Fitr is an Islamic feast celebrated after the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. It is considered a reward for Muslims who struggled through Ramadan and achieved a whole month fasting.

Eid El Fitr is a 3 day feast in which people have an official holiday in Egypt. Muslims start the celebrations by going to the mosques to perform a special prayer call the Feast holiday after sunrise where men women and children listen to a religious speech in which Imam usually reminds Muslims of the virtues and good deeds they should do to friends, relatives, neighbors and even strangers during Eid el Fetr and throughout the year.

After the prayers Egyptians usually visit families and offer sweets made specially for this occasion called the feast sweets or Kahk. Bisuits are also made in multiple flavors either at home or at candy shops which consider this occasion a profitable one because although most people used to bake Kahk themselves, nowadays many Egyptians buy the sweets from shops.

Family visits are considered a must on the first day of the Eid so they have the rest of days to enjoy by going to parks, cinemas, theatres or the beaches. Some like to go on tours or Nile cruise. Sharm El Sheikh is considered a favorite spot for spending holidays is Egypt.

Eid El Fitr is indeed a time for celebration but it is also a time for sharing as there is a special charity in the Eid called the "Sadaka" or the Eid el Fitr Charity which is paid by every Muslim before the end of Ramadan and given to the poor to be able to buy new clothes and kahk during the feast.

In Egypt People like to celebrate with others so apart from the crowded streets you are likely to have fun if you spend your holiday during Eid el Fitrs in Egypt.

So if your Egypt visit coincides with Eid, you can either share with Egyptians their celebrations or catch-up on your shopping by benefiting from Cairo’s and Alexandria’s commercial districts’ least crowded days of the year.