Kinderen vieren het Suikerfeest na de ramadan

What is the Dutch “Suikerfeest”?

Suikerfeest (“Sugar Festival”) is the Dutch word for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. The Netherlands has roughly one million Muslim residents, mostly of Moroccan, Turkish, and Surinamese background, and the Suikerfeest is the year’s most visible Dutch Muslim celebration. Families wake before dawn for salat al-Fajr, attend Eid prayers at neighborhood mosques, and spend the day visiting relatives with sweets and gift exchanges (the “sugar” reference). Many Dutch primary schools mark the day, and Suikerfeest is increasingly recognized in gemeente event calendars and supermarket campaigns.

In this clip, kids gather at the Oelu moskee in Utrecht: “Hier gaan ze eerst praten over het suikerfeest en zo. De meeste kinderen hier hebben meegevast.”