Eid al-Fitr, or Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning “festivity,” while Fitr means “breaking (the fast)”. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of twenty nine or thirty days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. Eid also ushers in the beginning of Shawwal or the tenth month in the Muslim calendar.
As this day defines both an end and a beginning for the Muslim community, personally it symbolizes the cyclical nature of my time in the United Arab Emirates. Three years ago my first assignment and introduction to the community was during an Eid morning prayer. Ironically, it seems that my time here is ending right where it began. Over the next few weeks, as I prepare to make my leap back to the States, Eid will become a distant faded memory for some. However, it will remain a symbol of my first impression of Abu Dhabi.
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