Saudi Arabia and Middle East celebrate Eid today

Saudi Arabia and all Middle Eastern countries announced they would celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, today.Most of the Gulf countries follow the lead of Saudi Arabia, home to the two holiest cities of Islam Mecca and Medina, to set the day of the Eid feast. The celebration falling on Friday, the Muslim holy day, is considered especially auspicious. Eid ul-Fitr celebrates the purification achieved by a month of sunrise-to-sunset fasting, one of the five pillars of Islam, and is marked by several days of festivities. Saudi Arabian cities planned fireworks and public performances. Airports, meanwhile, were jammed Monday and Tuesday by Saudis heading abroad for vacations, foreigners going home to celebrate Eid with families, and tens of thousands of pilgrims to Mecca heading home.