How to celebrate Eid in the office
Wondering how to celebrate Eid in the office? We’ve collated some fun, respectful ways to mark the end of Ramadan in your workplace.
Eid-al-Fitr, otherwise known as the ‘festival of breaking the fast’, is a religious holiday that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk each day. Celebrated by 1.9 billion people worldwide, Eid-al-Fitr begins with the first sighting of the new moon, so the exact dates change every year. This year, it’s predicted to take place from the 9th to the 10th April.
For the Muslim community, Eid al Fitr is a day of joy and thanksgiving. The morning is spent giving to charity and prayers in the Mosque, and ends with gift giving and meals with family and friends.
Because of this, your Muslim colleagues may want to take the day off entirely, in which case you should make sure any requested leave is approved. Nevertheless, it’s still a great idea to acknowledge and celebrate Eid-al-Fitr in the workplace.
Why is it important to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr in the workplace?
Taking the time to acknowledge and celebrate Eid-al-Fitr at your place of work is one of the most obvious ways to show support to your Muslim colleagues and clients. It not only shows that you appreciate the celebrations that are significant to them, but also invites them to share these with the rest of your team, creating a sense of inclusivity and togetherness.
It’s generally important to diversify the types of cultural events you celebrate as a company, especially if it reflects the diversity within your team. With Islam being the second largest religion in the UK, its likely many companies will have colleagues observing this holy festival in the Islamic calendar.
How can you respectfully celebrate Eid al-Fitr at work?
Wish your colleagues a Happy Eid. If you’d like to share your well-wishes with a Muslim colleague (or anyone for that matter!), you can say “Eid Mubarak” (EED moo-BAH-ruck) which translates to Happy Eid.
Hold a lunch and learn session. Learning about cultural celebrations is typically the most respectful way to celebrate them, as it focuses on their importance and origin. So why not host a lunchtime session to learn all about the history of Eid-al-Fitr and how it’s celebrated around the world? You might like to book a Muslim speaker to chat to your teams and educate them on the significance and traditions of the celebration. Alternatively, you can task your teams to learn and present findings on different areas of Eid-al-Fitr so that everyone is taking an active role in the learning session.
Run a gratitude session
Eid-al-Fitr is a day of thanksgiving, so to celebrate this, get your teams to take half an hour out of their day to write a few things they're thankful for. You can either make this an anonymous online board where others can read all the entries, or you might prefer the experience of physically writing them down. In this case, you might want to pin these thankfulness posts up on the wall for a while. You might even find it generally boosts morale and gratitude in your work culture.
Watch a film or documentary
Want to acknowledge Eid-al-Fitr but don’t feel like you know enough? You can always leave it up to the experts by inviting your teams to join a ‘screening lunch’ where you show either a film or documentary that explores Eid-al-Fitr and Ramadan, or Muslim culture more generally. Get some popcorn in and make sure everyone is invited to take some time away from their desks to join in the fun.
Hold a Secret Sheikh
Like a Secret Santa, a Secret Sheikh is an opportunity to give gifts to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr. While it’s not a traditional part of the celebrations, it’s a nice way to get involved with the tradition of giving gifts. If you want to make sure you’re giving with impact, you can make your Secret Sheikh a charitable initiative, by inviting all your teams to bring a gift or make a donation towards a relevant charity. Why not get your team engaged by crowd-sourcing ideas for organisations to support from your teams?
Get some tasty treats in
As mentioned, Eid-al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. As such, it’s appropriate to celebrate this moment by indulging in some delicious treats. At CakeDrop, we’ve created some special edition goodies especially for Eid. In keeping with tradition, this platter of chocolate covered Medjool dates comes in a variety of flavours, including white chocolate, pistachio, rose, and coconut.
Here at CakeDrop, we can help your company celebrate any occasion - from cultural holidays to work anniversaries and everything in between. If you’d like to find out more about how we can help inject a little sweetness into your office, get in touch with a member of our team today.