There are two universally accepted holidays in Islam. These two holidays are Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha. The word Eid in Arabic means 'Celebration' or 'Festival', ‘Fitr' means breaking the fast and 'Adha' means 'Sacrifice'. Therefore, Eid ul-Fitr means the festival of the breaking of the Fast and Eid ul-Adha means the festival of Sacrifice. Eid ul-Fitr takes place after the month of Ramadan ends. Muslims celebrates the end of the month of Ramadan with Eid ul-Fitr, hence the name (Celebration of the Breaking of the Fast); it is also known as The Day of Happiness. Eid ul-Adha which is known as the greater of the two holidays commemorates the sacrifices that prophet Abraham made via the commands of Allah(God), which begins at the conclusion of Hajj(Pilgrimage to Mecca). Both Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are celebrated in similar fashion. Muslims start the day early heading to a common meeting place preferably an open field, but it could also be held in a Masjid. There the Eid prayer is establish followed by a short 'Khutba' or Religious sermon from the prayer leader(Imam). Then Muslims gather for a large feast with the giving of gifts as well as fellowshipping among themselves, etc. The greeting Muslims use on the days of Eid is known as Eid-Mubarak(May Your Festivities Be Blessed).
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