Wikipedia's first sentence called it “south asian islamic observance on the eve of the festival of eid ul-fitr”. Today it says “south asian cultural observance on the eve of the festival of eid al-fitr”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “The eve of Eid ul-Fitr”. It now reads “Eve of Eid al-Fitr”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
In Islamic Pakistani culture Chand Raat or "night of the moon" as it translates marks the end of Ramadan ( Arabic : رمضان ) and the start of Eid ul-Fitr ( Arabic : عيد الفطر). Since the Islamic Calendar is lunar the advent of Shawwal, the final month of the Islamic year. Since this custom is dependent on the sighting of the moon it can often happen on different days in different parts of the world. It is believed by many that anything wished for right after the sighting of the moon will be granted. After the moon is seen celebrations often involving much Mehndi ( henna ) begin.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16965189.
The opening as it stood in 2010 5 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A Chaand Raat celebration in Hyderabad , India Chaand Raat ( Hindi : चाँद रात, Urdu : چاند رات literally, Night of the Moon ) is a Hindi , Urdu and Bengali locution used in Pakistan , India and Bangladesh for the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid ; it can also mean a night with a full moon.Chaand Raat is a time of celebration when families and friends gather in open areas at the end of the last day of Ramadan to spot the new moon , which signals the arrival of the Islamic month of Shawwal and the day of Eid.Once the moon is sighted, people wish each other Chaand Raat Mubarak ("Have a blessed night of the new moon") or Eid Mubarak ("Blessings of the Eid day").Women and girls decorate their hands with mehndi ( henna ), and people prepare desserts for the next day of Eid and do the last round of shopping.City streets have a festive look, and brightly decorated malls and markets remain open late into the night.Chaand Raat is celebrated festively and passionately by Muslims (and occasionally non-Muslims as well) all over South Asia, and in socio-cultural significance, this night is comparable to Christmas Eve in Christian nations.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 355172426.
The opening as it stood in 2015
A Chaand Raat celebration in Hyderabad , India Chaand Raat ( Hindi : चाँद रात; Urdu : چاند رات ; Bengali : চাঁদ রাত, [ Chaad Raat ] ; literally, Night of the Moon ) is a Hindi , Urdu locution used in Pakistan and India for the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr ; it can also mean a night with a full moon Chaand Raat is a time of celebration when families and friends gather in open areas at the end of the last day of Ramadan to spot the new moon , which signals the arrival of the Islamic month of Shawwal and the day of Eid. Once the moon is sighted, people wish each other Chaand Raat Mubarak ("Have a blessed night of the new moon") or Eid Mubarak ("Blessings of the Eid day"). Women and girls decorate their hands with mehndi ( henna ), and people prepare desserts for the next day of Eid and do the last round of shopping. City streets have a festive look, and brightly decorated malls and markets remain open late into the night. Chaand Raat is celebrated festively and passionately by Muslims (and occasionally non-Muslims as well) all over South Asia, and in socio-cultural significance, this night is comparable to Christmas Eve in Christian nations.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 662072014.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Chaand Raat ( Bengali : চাঁদ রাত, , Hindi : चाँद रात; literally Night of the moon ) is a Bengali , Urdu , and Hindi locution used in Bangladesh , Pakistan and India for the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr ; it can also mean a night with a new moon for the new Islamic month shawwal. Chaand Raat is a time of celebration when families and friends gather in open areas at the end of the last day of Ramadan to spot the new moon , which signals the arrival of the Islamic month of Shawwal and the day of Eid. Once the moon is sighted, people wish each other Chaand Raat Mubarak ("Have a blessed night of the new moon") or Eid Mubarak ("Blessings of the Eid day"). Women and girls decorate their hands with mehndi ( henna ), and people prepare desserts for the next day of Eid and do last rounds of shopping. City streets have a festive look, and brightly decorated malls and markets remain open late into the night. Chaand Raat is celebrated festively and passionately by Muslims (and occasionally non-Muslims as well) all over South Asia, and in socio-cultural significance, is comparable to Christmas Eve .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 958541657.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
The eve of Eid ul-Fitr Chaand Raat ( lit. ' Night of the moon ' ) is a South Asian Islamic observance on the eve of the festival of Eid ul-Fitr ; it can also mean a night with a new moon for the new Islamic month Shawwal . Chaand Raat is a time of celebration when families and friends gather in open areas at the end of the last day of Ramadan to spot the new moon, which signals the arrival of the Islamic month of Shawwal and the day of Eid. Once the moon is sighted, people wish each other Eid Mubarak ("Blessings of the Eid day"). Women and girls decorate their hands with mehndi ( henna ), and people prepare desserts for the next day of Eid and do last rounds of shopping . City streets have a festive look, and brightly decorated malls and markets remain open late into the night. Chaand Raat is celebrated festively and passionately by Muslims (and occasionally non-Muslims as well) all over South Asia, and in socio-cultural significance, is comparable to Christmas Eve . The Times of India . 5 December 2002 .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1175016772.
The opening as it stood in 2025
The eve of Eid ul-Fitr Chaand Raat ( Hindustani: [t͡ʃãːd̪ ɾaːt̪] , lit. ' Night of the moon ' ) is a South Asian Cultural observance on the eve of the festival of Eid al-Fitr ; it can also mean a night with a new moon for the new Islamic month Shawwal . Chaand Raat is a time of celebration when families and friends gather in open areas at the end of the last day of Ramadan to spot the new moon, which signals the arrival of the Islamic month of Shawwal and the day of Eid. Once the moon is sighted, people wish each other Eid Mubarak ("Blessings of the Eid day"). Women and girls decorate their hands with mehndi ( henna ), and people prepare desserts for the next day of Eid and do last rounds of shopping . City streets have a festive look, and brightly decorated malls and markets remain open late into the night. Chaand Raat is celebrated festively and passionately by Muslims (and occasionally non-Muslims as well) all over South Asia, and in socio-cultural significance, is comparable to Christmas Eve . The Times of India . 5 December 2002 .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1289723350. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “south asian islamic observance on the eve of the festival of eid ul-fitr”. Today it says “south asian cultural observance on the eve of the festival of eid al-fitr”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “The eve of Eid ul-Fitr”. It now reads “Eve of Eid al-Fitr”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
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2015
2020
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2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
south asian islamic observance on the eve of the festival of eid ul-fitr
Now
south asian cultural observance on the eve of the festival of eid al-fitr
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.