Summary: Each year, you can count on most businesses being closed Christmas and Thanksgiving. Easter, too, is a holiday when an office might close up for the day. For Muslims, though, the major holidays are the two Eids ndash; Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Muslim month of fasting known as Ramadan. Eid al Adha is a commemoration of Ibrahimrsquo;s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to Allah ndash; luckily for Ishmael Allah replaced the boy with a ram. (In the Jewish and Christian traditions it is Isaac that is saved from sacrifice.) This Eid also marks the end of the Hajj ndash; the required pilgrimage to Mecca. There are some employers who are beginning to recognize these holidays, and allow their Muslim employees to take time off for them. There is a bit of a problem, however, because the holidays may be marked on different days by Shirsquo;a and Sunni Muslims. Another problem for employers can be simply the fact that Muslim holidays are marked by the lunar calendar and can vary from year to year ndash; unlike holidays like Christmas which are marked by a specific day each year.
