The Empire State Building in New York City glowed in green in honour of Eid ul Fitr. The 102-story Art Deco skyscraper was illuminated in green hours after the announcement of Eid ul Fitr was made marking the conclusion of Ramadan – the ninth month of the Islamic calendar during which Muslims fast. Green has long been used as a symbol for Islam which denotes peace and purity. The update about honouring Muslims’ annual festive occasion was shared via the Twitter account of the high-rise, which was built between 1930 to 1931 in NYC’s Midtown Manhattan. “Glowing in green tonight in Honor of Eid al-Fitr,” the tweet read. A day earlier, the clock tower structure – which stands tall outside the Grand Mosque in Makkah, also shined in green with ‘Eid Mubarak’ written in Arabic script signalling entry into the month of Shawwal – the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims in the Gulf countries and other parts of the world are celebrating Eid ul Fitr on Friday (today) with family and friends, marking the end of the month-long fasting period of Ramadan. The religious holiday is being celebrated in many countries including the Gulf states as Saudi Arabia announced the sighting of the Shawwal moon on April 20. Muslims in the United States, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Indonesia, Palestine, Turkey and Afghanistan are celebrating the religious festival with zest and zeal. The people started their day with morning prayers and offered Eid greetings to one another.