Counting the days

1426 Hijrah, that’s the Islamic Year for this year (2005/2006)

In case you’re curious the following is how the Islamic Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar match up for this year.

Islamic Month (Gregorian Dates)
Muharam (February 10 - March 10, 2005)
Safar (March 11 - April 9, 2005)
Rabiulawal (April 10 - May 8, 2005)
Rabiulakhir (May 9 - June 7, 2005)
Jamadilawal (June 8 - July 6, 2005)
Jamaldilakhir (July 7 - August 5, 2005)
Rejab (August 6 - September 4, 2005)
Syaaban (September 5 - October 3, 2005)
Ramadhan (October 4 - November 2, 2005)
Syawal (November 3 - December 2, 2005)
Zulkaedah (December 3 - December 31, 2005)
Zulhijjah (January 1 - January 30, 2006)

16 days to 3rd of November, 2005 which is expected for 1st Syawal when Aidifitri or Eid Mubarak is celebrated.

So what is the meaning of Eid Mubarak and Aidilfitri?

Eid Mubarak
Pronunciation: eed moo-bar-ak • (phrase)

Definition: A phrase of greetings said among Muslims to congratulate each other on holidays. It literally means, "Blessed Festival!"

Aidilfitri
Eid is an Arabic word derived from ‘aada. Literally it means a recurring event. In Islam it denotes the festivals of ISLAM. The word Eid occurs in the Qur'an once meaning a joyous recurring occasion.

Eid-ul-Fitr is the festival that marks the end of the month of Ramadhan. Fitr means to break and it therefore marks the breaking of the fasting period and of all evil habits.

So let me be the first to wish all Muslims Selamat Hari Raya Aifilfitri or Eid Mubarak to you and your family.

• 11 of the days until Aidifitri are working days, unless the government decides to announce 2nd November a holiday since its sandwiched between Deepavali and Aidilfitri.
• Deepavali is on the 1st of November, which is a Tuesday. So if you take Monday and Wednesday off, you get a whole week break.
• Over 200 people will die on the roads again this festive season on their way back to their home-town. Please be careful on the road, be patient and remember SPEED KILLS.
• 76 days left in 2005 and then it’s a brand new year!
• 50 days of working days left in 2005 and that’s inclusive of Public Holidays.
• 12th November is when the school holiday starts, all the way to 2nd January 2006.
• Christmas is on a Sunday this year, so enjoy the long weekend.
• 8 weeks are the number of working weeks left this year if you take the week of Deepavali and the week after Aidilfitri off, and also exclude the week of Christmas. That translates to about 40 working days only.
• I have all my slots for breaking fast taken up this week, so another 5 more days left to fill up and I shall be enjoying (Not!) the over-priced hotel buffets for the next two weeks.
• 4 more days to this Saturday.
• Killed 30 minutes writing this up.
• About 8 hours before breaking fast today.

So what are you counting on?