How Muslims are celebrating the first Eid after restrictions lift

Following three Eid celebrations under social distancing restrictions, Muslims tell Saman Javed how the new freedoms will impact their plans

A family eats together on Eid (Getty Images)

On Tuesday, millions of Muslims in the UK will observe Eid al-Adha. Also known as the festival of sacrifice, or “big Eid” amongst Muslims, it is considered the most important celebration of the Islamic calendar. The festival, which is three days long, is particularly significant because it marks the completion of Hajj, an Islamic pilgrimage that every Muslim must take part in at least once in their lifetime.

Since the pandemic brought in a national lockdown in March 2020, three separate Eid celebrations – Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, twice, and Eid al-Adha, once – have passed under some form of restrictions.

While the UK enjoyed a summer of fairly-relaxed coronavirus restrictions in 2020, cases in Covid-19 hotspots, such as Greater Manchester, Lancashire and parts of Yorkshire rocketed. To curb its spread, the government announced new restrictions which came into “immediate effect” on 31 July, the evening Eid al-Adha began.