Residents in Beijing queue to buy mutton and beef while wearing face masks to celebrate Eid al-Fitr on May 24, 2020. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Eid al-Fitr was one of the most-searched topics on Weibo on Sunday amid the COVID-19 pandemic as netizens offered their congratulatory remarks in celebration of the festival.

Eid al-Fitr, also known as the "Festival of Breaking the Fast," is a Muslim holiday celebrated worldwide that marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset Ramadan fast. This year, Eid al-Fitr fell on Sunday. 

By Sunday afternoon, the related hashtag had been viewed over 26 million times.

Beijing mosques were still closed due to COVID-19 and celebration activities were not allowed.

Beijing residents queued to buy mutton and beef while wearing face masks so they could host meals for the festival.

Photo: Li Hao/GT

Chinese netizens uploaded photos on Weibo of their holiday activities from last year's Eid al-Fitr celebration and missed the normal days.

"Eid Mubarak! I hope the epidemic can be defeated soon and then we can enjoy our festivals as before!" one netizen commented.

"Although the epidemic makes the holiday different from previous years', we can still take this festival to offer blessings and care, and distance cannot stop our hearts getting closer," another Weibo user wrote.

A 26-year-old white-collar employee in Beijing told the Global Times that her father had made delicious food to celebrate the festival at their home in Central China's Henan Province, but because of COVID-19, she could only see her family eating via WeChat. 

"This is an epidemic-version celebrating activity," she said.

Photo: Li Hao/GT