Thursday marks the end of Ramadan for Muslims around the world and in Calgary tens of thousands of people packed into the BMO Centre at Stampede Park to celebrate.
A record crowd of over 30,000 people were in attendance for the celebration on Thursday morning
Eid ul Fitr is a three day festival and is also known as the Feast of Fast Breaking and marks the end of the month of Ramadan and the conclusion of a month of fasting, charitable giving and prayer.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi says Eid is also about how we can give back to the community.
“Over the last six or seven weeks we have seen an outpouring of community spirit and civic engagement like we’ve never seen before in history,” said Nenshi. “And how Muslims can also y reflect on that and think about additional ways that they can use their own hands and hearts to help the community,” said the mayor.
“We feel sorry for what happened and the Muslim community was participating in helping in the community and we care for our city like other people. We love to see our city the best because we live here so we have to take care of that and participate in everything,” said Imam Jamal Hammoud.
Muslims believe God revealed the first verses of the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad during Ramadan, which starts with the sighting of the new moon. The Muslim lunar calendar moves back through the seasons, meaning Ramadan starts 11 days earlier each year under the Western calendar.
Not all countries begin celebrations on the same day. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, for instance, are expected to officially begin Eid on Friday after the moon is sighted there.
For more information, visit the Muslim Council of Calgary website.
(With files from ctvnews.ca)
