Reason why Kerala celebrates Eid-ul-Fitr the same day as Saudi Arabia

In India, each state has local communities responsible for moon sighting, determining when the festival will be observed.

Ever wondered why Kerala celebrates Eid the same day as Saudi Arabia?

Every year, Kerala celebrates Eid a day before the rest of India. While there are various technical reasons, including geography and astronomy, the other factor influencing its decision is the state’s practice of following Saudi Arabia’s announcements.

This year, Saudi Arabia began sighting the Eid al-Fitr crescent moon on March 18 and confirmed that the festival will be observed on Friday, March 20. This sighting is widely observed, as with the Ramzan announcement, in most countries worldwide.

However, countries like Australia and India are mostly one day behind in the sighting, mainly due to low visibility. The key difference here is the geography of the countries.

How sea, position of moon and sunsets affect moon sighting

Since Saudi Arabia is west of India, the sun sets later there. As the sun sets earlier in India, the moon has less time to move away from the sun’s glare to become visible. In the west, the moon is higher and brighter, making it easier to spot by sunset.

In India, each state has local communities responsible for moon sighting, determining when the festival will be observed.

The southern state celebrates the festival on the same day as Saudi Arabia, largely because it has clearer coastal views and its tradition of aligning with Gulf declarations.

Tamil Nadu, much like Kerala, frequently aligns its Eid celebrations with Saudi Arabia. This is why Eid prayers took place on Friday, March 20, this year for the two states.

Meanwhile, the moon sighting committees of other states and Union Territories announced on Thursday, March 19, that 2026 Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Saturday, March 21, marking the end of Ramzan.

The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee of the Deccan Muslim Ulema Council held its monthly meeting to sight the Shawwal crescent; however, as the moon was not sighted on Thursday, the official date for the festival was announced as Saturday.