White House Iftar dinner

The annual tradition started in 1996 when Hillary Clinton hosted a Ramadan Eid celebration dinner.

Thomas Jefferson held the first White House Iftar dinner while hosting Sidi Soliman Mellimelli, an envoy of Beylik of Tunis, on December 9, 1805.

[1] Jefferson adjusted the timing of the meal to after sunset to accommodate Sidi Soliman Mellimelli's Ramadan tradition.

[2] Following this, it is probable that Ramadan was not commemorated at the White House until 1996, although Jimmy Carter sent Eid greetings to "our fellow Americans of the Muslim faith" in 1980.

[3][4] President Bill Clinton continued the tradition,[5] as did George W. Bush who hosted an iftar dinner at the White House in 2001.