There are two Eids celebrated each year in the Islamic calendar.
On Thursday, Muslims will celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which is also known as the festival of breaking fast.
It is typically celebrated at the end of the Muslim month of fasting, called Ramadan.
The second Eid, called Eid al-Adha, which is also known as the “festival of sacrifice”, is marked around two months later at the same time when many Muslims perform the Hajj pilgrimage.
Under normal circumstances, the day starts with a morning prayer at a mosque and is then followed by family and friends coming together to eat.
Aya Bdaiwi, 30, communications manager at Faiths Forum for London, said: “They might buy new clothes and exchange presents – especially for the younger family members.
“There’s always some sort of tradition that runs through each family.”
Eid al-Fitr typically lasts around three days.
Much like Easter Sunday in the Christian calendar, Eid does not fall on the same day every year.
Instead, Eid and the period of Ramadan are both dictated by a new moon, as Islam follows the lunar calendar.
The Muslim Council of Britain said many of the usual festivities, including large indoor gatherings, will not be possible due to the Covid-19 restrictions in place across the UK.
However, people can still take part in Covid-19-safe Eid prayers at their local mosque and have meals outdoors.
Saudi Arabia, home to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, is under a complete lockdown, with residents only permitted to leave their homes to purchase food and medicine.
In Pakistan, Eid is being celebrated in the shadow of the coronavirus and in the wake of a passenger plane crash near Karachi on Friday that killed 97 people.
It starts on Wednesday evening and ends on Thursday evening in the UK, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
For the first time, Pakistan is celebrating Eid countrywide on the same day, ending an annual controversy between rival committees over the moon sighting that signals the start of the holiday.
Pakistan has taken measures to control the spread of the coronavirus since mid-March, but Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to close mosques during Ramadan, despite pleas from doctors and a rising number of infections.
Pakistan has reported more than 52,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths.
More than 1,000 worshippers gathered and prayed shoulder-to-shoulder in an open field in Karachi on Sunday, with only a few of them wearing masks.
