The festival of Eid-Ul-Fitr – a major religious day celebrated by Muslims around the world that marks the conclusion of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting – is being celebrated in New Zealand today on Tuesday, May 3.
Devout Muslims all over the country began their day and the festivities by offering morning prayers – Namaz – at various mosques and followed by meeting and greeting loved ones and wider communities, accompanied by feasting on cuisines from different parts of the world.
The celebration commemorates the end of the 30 days of dawn-to-dusk fasting that Muslims observe throughout the month of Ramadan.
Leading the celebratory events in the country was the major event at Eden Park stadium that witnessed the enthusiastic participation of thousands of festival-goers, several dignitaries, and the members of wider communities.
Organised by New Zealand Eid Day - a not for profit community organisation based in Auckland – the Eden Park Eid celebrations had a dedicated place for offering Eid Namaj, accompanied by a range of food stalls, henna stalls, other craftworks, and bouncy castles for children to allow people indulge in fun food and festivities.
The stadium premises was full during the prayers on Eid, with separate arrangements made for male and female, followed by an Eid carnival arranged at the stadium for the families to enjoy the day.
Fun activities included bouncing castles, photo booths, face painting, henna, ethnic clothing and women’s accessories and delicacies from 15-20 different nations serving the best snack and foods of the countries.
Among dignitaries attending the event, the key was Minister for Transport and Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Wood – who has been a regular at this event for the last many years.
Speaking with the Indian Weekender, Wood extended Eid Mubarak greetings to everyone saying, “It is really good to be here at New Zealand Eid Day at Eden Park. It is a day of joy and celebrations for the Muslim community. A very positive environment. Good to be here.”
“Part of our job as MP is to connect and represent all different communities. New Zealand today, in 2022, is an enormously diverse society. Certainly, it is in my electorate Mt Roskill. So being in such community events, hearing about their issues and showing our support to them is a very important part of our job as the government and also as MPs.
“Eid is a day of celebration and of joy for the Muslim community. But I will acknowledge the Muslim community for really opening up these sorts of events for the communities more broadly. The way we build a more cohesive, successful and happy society is by sharing our cultures and our faiths by accepting one another and by being willing to learn from one another,” Wood said.