When the Beacon City School principals or assistant principals sent out the upcoming holiday dates, like this one from Rombout Middle School, district families noticed a new school holiday: Eid al-Fitr, which is one of the most celebrated days in Islam. "This will be the first year that the Beacon City School District is closed for the Eid holiday,” Vickie Jackson, Secretary to Dr. Matthew Landahl, Superintendent, confirmed to A Little Beacon Blog. Once the Muslim community in Beacon completes Ramadan, which is the highly anticipated month of fasting from sunrise to sundown, the fast is celebrated on the last day of Ramadan on Eid al-Fitr.

Longtime writer for ALBB, Izdihar Dabashi, who is Muslim, Yemeni-American and a hijabi, explains what Eid is: “Muslims have two Eid holidays: Eid Al-Fitr, which is the first day to break fast following the holy month of Ramadan. Eid Al-Fitr celebrates the completion of Ramadan. We start the day by praying at the mosque for Allah (God) to accept our fast, charity, and good deeds during Ramadan. Each Muslim person donates money to the poor, and it’s common for people to send money to feed the poor or slaughter (in a humane and clean method, which makes it halal) a lamb to feed the poor. Eid is spent with family. Some of us go to the park, others to restaurants, some choose to just stay at home and have family over.”

Eid will be recognized as a school holiday in Beacon on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. The actual date is determined by the Hijri calendar - its lunar calendar of 12 months.

According to Zakat.org, “Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Hijri calendar’s 9th month, Ramadan, and the first day of its 10th month, Shawwal.” As for the start of Ramadan, Zakat.org states: “Based on Ramadan 2024 beginning March 11 (at night, with the first fasting day being March 12), we anticipate Eid al-Fitr 2024 to fall on or near April 9.”

Zakat means almsgiving in Arabic and is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. Zakat is considered a religious obligation and duty for Muslims.