WASHINGTON, 18 December — Worshippers gathered from afar to celebrate the first day of Eid Al-Fitr together at an exposition hall outside of Washington — police estimated 24,000 people attended Sunday’s event, which was organized by five mosques in the northern Virginia area.

The atmosphere at the Capital Expo Center was festive — women were dressed in flowing, colorful robes from dozens of countries, many of whom brought their own ethnic foods they shared with friends, children played on moon bounce rides, and men exchanged earnest conversation.

“Ramadan is over and we came here to share Eid with Muslims of all different countries and with Muslims from this country, too. We see old friends here that we haven’t seen all year,” said Nassim Abd Elrrahim, a Moroccan American from Virginia. “After a month of fasting, we’re in the mood to celebrate.”

Men and boys wore long white robes yesterday for the massive, communal Eid prayers, next to the adjacent hall where the carnival games and shopping concessions displayed their wares and foods.

There were story time tents for the children, rides, basketball games, arts and crafts, henna painting, cotton candy, balloon sculptures, face paints, clown shows and lots of food. “You can eat anything from shish kabobs and baklawa — to pizza and frozen yogurt,” said Priscilla Martinez, who has attended Eid festivals here with her family for several years. “This is a like a big family reunion.”

Mosques and Muslim schools were also represented, each with their own booth, each doing some fundraising. Some school children were selling chocolates, while another school sold bubble gum, said Martinez.

One end of the Expo Center was turned into an indoor bazaar, with booths that sold a wide variety of items. There were stands selling watches, purses, rugs, laser Islamic artwork, books on Islam, clothes shops that offered every thing from jeans to elegant Pakistani “shalwar kameez” gowns. A jewelry shop, very popular with the ladies, offered 24-karat gold-plated items: “This makes it affordable for everyone,” said Sen Goupta, whose sister owns a jewelry store in Herdon, Virginia.

Other booths offered wide-bellied coffee pots for Arabic coffee, and small coffee and tea sets — common in the Muslim world, unusual here. There were Islamic tapestries, and even an Islamic wood plaque store. Incense perfumed the length of some aisles.

For some people, it was their first Eid at the Capital Expo Center. “I just learned of this event, and we’ve really enjoyed it so much,” said Alam Jassim, a Pakistani American. “It’s special for all Muslims. It’s nice because we can see all our men and women sitting together, getting to know each other, and the children are playing together. Everybody is happy today.”

“This is our first Eid here, we came here with friends to check it out and see what’s going on. There are lots of Muslim brothers and sisters here, and we are very happy,” said Shah Syed, a Pakistani-American who works as civil engineer in Virginia.

This year’s event was so popular that some guests had to stand outside for an hour to wait for the people to leave inside, explained Fatima Mirza, one of the “MIB’s,” or “Muslims in Black,” who made a up a volunteer security force that patrolled the center. Security was higher this year than previous years, said Mirza. “This time, because of Sept. 11, and because there has been such a fear of a backlash — we stepped up security.”