Ramadan Has Ended, And For The White House, So Has A 20-Year Tradition

For the first time in over 20 years, the White House skipped out on hosting a Ramadan celebration.

Ramadan is a holy month in which Muslims fast from sunup to sunset every day.

In 1996, then-first lady Hillary Clinton celebrated the modern White House's first Eid dinner.

Since then, presidents had dinners during or to mark the end of Ramadan a yearly tradition. But this year, Ramadan ended without President Donald Trump hosting any event.

Instead, Trump issued a statement at the beginning of the holiday, wishing Muslims a "joyful Ramadan." But some criticized how much of his statement focused on terrorism.

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Trump also defended his travel ban over Ramadan, saying the ban was needed against certain "dangerous" countries. However, it only deals with Muslim-majority nations.

We should note: the White House issued a second statement on Saturday that reads, in part, "During this holiday, we are reminded of the importance of mercy, compassion and goodwill."

And Ramadan isn't the only major religious celebration Trump has sat out. The White House held a Passover Seder in April, but Trump didn't attend.

ABC notes Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also broke from tradition by not having the State Department host its own Ramadan dinner this year.