Eid al-Fitr 2013: Prayers at Mosques, Banquets, Festivities Mark End of Ramadan Around the World [PHOTOS]

Muslims around the world celebrated Eid al-Fitr on 8 August by offering prayers at mosques, greeting each other and celebrating with banquets, as they marked the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Unlike the first day of Ramadan, which is observed with a sighting of the crescent moon in the western sky at sunset, Eid al-Fitr is celebrated after the setting of the sun.

After dusk hours, followers of Islam in several countries started Eid al-Fitr celebrations and gathered in streets. Lavish feasts are a core part of Eid al-Fitr celebrations after the month-long period of Ramadan, during which Muslims practice a fast from dawn until sunset, an act believed to bestow divine blessings on followers. Ramadan is also the month for acts of charity, donation and kindness.

Eid al-Fitr, a three-day festival, falls on the last Friday of Ramadan or on the first day of Shawwal, the month that follows Ramadan.

From the Lakemba mosque in Sydney to Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, scroll down to see the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid festivities around the world...