Eid Mubarak! Wednesday April 10 is a day of celebration for Muslims in France, who celebrate Eid-el-Fitr, the breaking of the fast, and the end of Ramadan.
In a press release dated April 1, the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM) affirmed that, “in accordance with scientific data,” the day of Eid-el-Fitr was set for Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
The Grand Mosque of Paris confirmed this date of April 10, after the traditional sighting of the Moon during the Night of Doubt on Monday evening. The rector of the Grand Mosque had estimated on
Saudi Arabia, land of Islam’s holiest places, also announced on Monday that Eid ul-Fitr would begin on Wednesday.
The end of the month of Ramadan is postponed by around ten days each year, because it is fixed on the Hegira calendar, which only has 354 or 355 days per year. According to this count, which begins with the departure of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca, in 622 of the Gregorian calendar, we are currently in the year 1445. This day is not a public holiday in France.
This is to mark the breaking of the fast observed during the holy month of Ramadan, which began on March 11, 2024. The festive day is therefore marked by a prayer at the mosque, but also exchanges of wishes, pastries, tea and small gifts.
Traditionally, believers put on new clothes, give each other gifts and pay alms, zakat al-fitr, intended for the poor. Its amount is subject to various estimates. It was set at 7 euros in 2018, an amount that the Grand Mosque continues to recommend, while the CFCM estimated that this amount “should evolve given the significant increase in food prices in recent years”, and determined it at 9 euros per person. The media Saphir News points out that this diversity is not new: Ditib, the body which represents Turkish Muslims, has just reassessed the amount of zakat from 10 to 15 euros in 2024.
Eid-el-Fitr, the celebration of rupture, is also called Eid-el-Séghir, which means “small celebration”, as opposed to the “big celebration” that constitutes Eid-el-Kébir. Also called “Eid el-Adha”, the latter is a commemoration of the sacrifice recounted in the Koran and in the Old Testament: as Abraham prepares to kill his son to obey God, an angel replaces the body of the child by that of a ram. In remembrance, Muslims carry out ritual sheep slaughter – a practice which is not carried out until the end of Ramadan.
Only the prayer said and the greeting (Eid Mubarak, or “happy holiday”) are the same for both celebrations.
This article is an update of a previous version published in 2018.
