Nagpur: This is the most significant Eid of the year since it literally means “Breaking of Fast”. The month of fasting comes to an end with delicacy Sheer Kurma, being distributed in celebration.
The Bohra community, which is present in large numbers in Nagpur, is celebrating it today.
Ramadan is an entire month during which Muslims focus on purifying themselves, getting closer to God, and growing in their knowledge/faith. During Ramadan Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. This fasting includes refraining from food, drink, sexual intercourse, bad language, and bad behavior. Muslims generally read an entire chapter of the Qur’an each day (it has 30 chapters) so they read the entire book in one month. It is often compared to being a mini boot-camp in which Muslims arm themselves with knowledge by reading the Qur’an and get physically fit by modifying their diet, increasing their good deeds, and committing more and greater acts of worship. According to one devout Muslim Shakila,
“By fasting we become more sympathetic to those less fortunate than ourselves because we feel what it is like to go without food or drink, we feel what it’s like to be without. In turn this should cause us to be more generous and seek to alleviate hunger amongst the poor. It also helps to bring us together with family, friends, and neighbors as we break our fasts together. It brings us closer as a community and to God by offering more worship such as taraweyah prayers (extra prayer services offered nightly in Ramadan).”
After such an extensive training session a celebration is only logical. This is where Eid al-Fitr (the Festival/Holiday of Breaking Fast) comes in. It is a celebration which lasts 3 days and celebrates the successful completion of Ramadan and the newly renewed spiritual cleansing and connection. This particular Eid is also associated with sweets and some call it the Sugar Festival or Sweet Festival. Sweets of various kinds are a common feature of this Eid. There are many different ways in which people celebrate the Eid but in general they all go in the morning to pray the special Eid prayer.
Eid al Fitr 2015 will be celebrated on Friday in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and several other Muslim nations, while Muslims in India will celebrate the festival, where it is referred to as Eid ul Fitr, on Friday and Saturday, depending on the moon-sighting.Internationally, the moon was sighted in Saudi Arabia on Thursday and the kingdom’s Supreme Court announced that Eid al Fitr will fall on Friday, according to newspaper Al Arabiya.
In the United States, too, the first day of Shawwal, which is marked as Eid al Fitr, will begin on Friday, according to the American Council.
