After fasting for a month during the holy month of Ramadan, the Muslim community in Lloydminster have come together to celebrate. Over one billion Muslims around the world celebrate the end of Ramadan with “Eid-ul-Fitr”, which is one of two festivals that mark the end of the month-long fasting.
During Ramadan, Muslims don’t eat or drink from sunrise to sunset in order to grow spiritually, as well as to understand the feeling of hunger.
“It is very easy for us whenever we are hungry to eat chocolate or snacks or fruits. These are just the luxuries we are blessed with by God almighty,” says Imam of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Lloydminster Mansoor Azeem. “[We look] to understand the same hunger the same feeling that less fortunate who do not have enough to feed themselves or their children.”
The Eid celebration started out on Wednesday with prayer than a sermon and as per tradition, each person will hug three times to show their love towards one another.
“In the mosque, everyone starts to greet each other, then hug each other three times and then say ‘Eid Mubarak’… Afterwards, we go to each other’s houses making sweets, as a celebration, that this is the sweet we have made and we want to share the meal with you.”
As part of the celebration, members participating in Eid must also donate money towards a charity.
“Every single person, no matter if he is earning or not, no matter whatever his or her name is, they have to donate $4 before coming to the celebration and if they’re earning they have to donate $10.”
Azeem says the mosque also had an open house this month for those looking to learn more about Islam and opened the fast for families to participate and learn more about the significance of Ramadan. Azeem says Lloydminster is a very accepting and harmonious community with many members of the mosque receiving gift cards and kind words during Ramadan.