Lesser Bairam or Eid El-Fitr

Expected date. Islamic holidays follow the lunar Hijri calendar, so they move about 11 days earlier every year. Egypt confirms the exact day by moon sighting (Dar al-Ifta) shortly before, and the government may shift the day off. Last checked October 2026.

Timing

Eid El-Fitr is one of the movable holidays set by the Islamic lunar calendar. It comes straight after Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. Ramadan itself has no official holidays; the feast celebrates the end of the fast. Eid means feast, and Fitr refers to breaking the fast.

Celebrations

Preparations often begin the day before, and the celebration lasts up to 3 days. If you are in Egypt at this time, you will see whole communities gather outdoors early in the morning for the Eid prayer. People buy new clothes, exchange gifts, give children newly printed banknotes, and give the obligatory charity to people in need.

How it is celebrated

After the morning prayer, families visit relatives, starting with the eldest members of the family, and spend the day eating together. The classic Eid treat is kahk, a butter biscuit dusted with icing sugar and sometimes filled with dates or nuts. Many families bake it at home in the last days of Ramadan, and bakeries sell it by the kilo.

Over the following days, parks, the Nile Corniche, zoos and public gardens fill with families. Feluccas on the Nile are busy, and cinemas often release new Egyptian films for the holiday. Many Egyptians also head to the beach resorts on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, so hotels and transport there can be busier than usual.

You will hear “Eid mubarak” and “Kol sana wenta tayeb” everywhere. Saying it back is always welcome.

What is open and closed

Government offices, banks and schools close for the day. Shops, restaurants and cafes are usually open, and most archaeological sites and museums usually keep their normal hours. If you need a bank or any official paperwork, sort it out a day or two before.

Tourist sites can be busier with Egyptian families during Eid, so going early in the day helps. Some small, family-run shops close for the first day.

Like all Islamic holidays, the date depends on the sighting of the new moon. The date above is the expected one; Dar al-Ifta confirms it shortly before, and the government then announces the official days off.