Staff Reporter:
Saudi Arabia has officially announced that the country will celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival for Muslims, on Sunday as the Shawwal crescent moon was sighted in the country’s sky on Saturday evening.
“The Supreme Court has decided that tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, 2025, is the first day of Eid al-Fitr,” the Royal Court said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency on X.
The timing of Eid-ul-Fitr is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom has announced a four-day holiday for the private and non-profit sectors, according to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.
The holiday will begin on Sunday and continue till Wednesday with work resuming on Thursday.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced Sunday would be the first day of the holiday, reports AFP.
Oman and Shiite-majority Iran said that Eid-ul-Fitr would start on Monday.
During Ramadan, observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.
Fasting is widely practised in Saudi Arabia, home of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
Across the Muslim world, Ramadan festivities this year were overshadowed by Israel’s resumption of hostilities in Gaza, where its military campaign to eradicate Hamas has killed tens of thousands of people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
