Muslims around the world are preparing to mark the end of Ramadan with colorful Eid Al-Fitr celebrations and with more than 10 million foreigners in Saudi Arabia, the country is a melting pot of various nationalities who all mark the Islamic holiday in their own unique way.
From the Sudanese community to Pakistani expatriates, the food, outfits and traditional festivities on this occasion are varied and wide-ranging.
Majdi, a Sudanese driver working for a family in Taif, reveals how members of the Sudanese community celebrate while away from home.
“A group of guys and I gather at a farm lent to us by one of our employers and we start our early morning with a cup of tea with milk and deep-fried luqaimat before Eid prayers. We greet our fellow Muslims at the mosque and go home to relax until it’s time for lunch. Our meal comprises of Sudanese aseeda, or jelly bread, and a barbeque of different meat cuts. It reminds us of home,” Majdi told Arab News, adding that being around his fellow countrymen makes being away from home easier.
It is not only Muslims who celebrate Eid Al-Fitr, however.
Johnny, a Filipino barista, also marks the occasion with his Muslim and Christian friends. The celebrations start later in the evening with traditional Filipino food brought by their friends and neighbors.
“We Filipinos are very hospitable and we hold a picnic every year… it feels good to be around everyone on such a joyous occasion. I’ve been in Saudi Arabia for a little over three years now and celebrating Eid isn’t so bad with everyone around.”
But what treats can be found on a typical Filipino table?
“Common Filipino foods include beef bulalo, grilled fish and the Pinoy version of leche flan,” he said.
It is not uncommon to see Muslims — regardless of their nationality — dressed up in new clothes for the occasion. Sweets and money are distributed to eager children and families often gather to celebrate together.
Stroll through Jeddah’s Al-Aziziyah district in the run-up to Eid and you will find that the shop windows are filled with colorful displays of the newest and brightest fabrics as Indian and Pakistani merchants advertise the latest sari and salwar kameez collections.
For many Indians and Pakistanis in the Kingdom, Eid begins with a phone call home as well as a breakfast of festive goodies.
On the big day, children are dressed in their snazziest outfits and little girls and boys — in their frocks and kurtas — hand out sweets at the mosque.
Women and young girls often decorate their palms with henna designs and adorn their wrists with gold and silver bangles. After the Eid prayers, families visit their friends and relatives and often enjoy special foods made for the occasion.
One of the most popular dishes served by Indians and Pakistanis is seviyan, a sweet, milky dish loved by children and adults alike.
It is a traditional dessert of vermicelli boiled in sweetened milk. Cardamom, pistachios and raisins are often added to infuse the dish with extra flavor.
“It’s the taste of our childhood; it’s the dish that I crave most from home because it’s served at weddings and on special occasions such as Eid. My grandmother used to make the finest seviyan and now my wife makes her own version of it that is just as if it were from home,” Mohammed, a Pakistani tailor who has lived in the Kingdom for more than 15 years, told Arab News.
“We celebrate with my large family since both my brothers have moved here and we’re lucky to have my mother here as well during the Eid festivities. It’s a special time of the year when we all gather wearing our best clothes.
“We all head out to the mosque together while our wives and mother prepare great dishes for us to have all day long. There’s our traditional biryani and chicken haleem, of course seviyan, freshly-made chapattis, carrot halva and so many more dishes. My wife has also learned a few traditional Saudi dishes that she incorporates into our celebrations as well,” Mohammed added.
This year, residents of Saudi Arabia who hail from across the world will celebrate Eid as they have always done — with prayers, delicious food and quality time with their families.
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Around the world in Saudi Arabia: How the Kingdom’s expats mark Eid
Around the world in Saudi Arabia: How the Kingdom’s expats mark Eid
St. Francis relics go on public show for first time in Italy
Assisi, Italy: Saint Francis of Assisi’s skeleton is going on public display from Sunday for the first time for the 800th anniversary of his death, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Inside a nitrogen-filled plexiglass case with the Latin inscription “Corpus Sancti Francisci” (The Body of St. Francis), the remains are being shown in the Italian hill town’s Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
St. Francis, who died on October 3, 1226, founded the Franciscan order after renouncing his wealth and devoting his life to the poor.
Giulio Cesareo, director of communications for the Franciscan convent in Assisi said he hoped the display could be “a meaningful experience” for believers and non-believers alike.
Cesareo, a Franciscan friar, said the “damaged” and “consumed” state of the bones showed that St. Francis “gave himself completely” to his life’s work.
His remains, which will be on display until March 22, were transferred to the basilica built in the saint’s honor in 1230.
But it was only in 1818, after excavations carried out in utmost secrecy, that his tomb was rediscovered.
Apart from previous exhumations for inspection and scientific examination, the bones of Saint Francis have only been displayed once, in 1978, to a very limited public and for just one day.
Usually hidden from view, the transparent case containing the relics since 1978 was brought out on Saturday from the metal coffer in which it is kept, inside his stone tomb in the crypt of the basilica.
The case is itself inside another bullet-proof and anti-burglary glass case.
Surveillance cameras will operate 24 hours a day for added protection of the remains.
St. Francis is Italy’s patron saint and the 800th anniversary commemorations of his death will also see the restoration of an October 4 public holiday in his honor.
The holiday had been scrapped nearly 50 years ago for budget reasons.
Its revival is also a tribute to late pope Francis who took on the saint’s name.
Pope Francis died last year at the age of 88.
‘Not a movie set’
Reservations to see the saint’s remains already amount to “almost 400,000 (people) coming from all parts of the world, with of course a clear predominance from Italy,” said Marco Moroni, guardian of the Franciscan convent.
“But we also have Brazilians, North Americans, Africans,” he added.
During this rather quiet time of year, the basilica usually sees 1,000 visitors per day on weekdays, rising to 4,000 on weekends.
The Franciscans said they were expecting 15,000 visitors per day on weekdays and up to 19,000 on Saturdays and Sundays for the month-long display of the remains.
“From the very beginning, since the time of the catacombs, Christians have venerated the bones of martyrs, the relics of martyrs, and they have never really experienced it as something macabre,” Cesareo said.
What “Christians still venerate today, in 2026, in the relics of a saint is the presence of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Another church in Assisi holds the remains of Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who died in 2006 and who was canonized in September by Pope Leo XIV.
Experts said the extended display of St. Francis’s remains should not affect their state of preservation.
“The display case is sealed, so there is no contact with the outside air. In reality, it remains in the same conditions as when it was in the tomb,” Cesareo said.
The light, which will remain subdued in the church, should also not have an effect.
“The basilica will not be lit up like a stadium,” Cesareo said. “This is not a movie set.”
