Today was interesting, like most. Every person I encountered forcifully asked if I had bought a sheep for tomorrow’s slaughtering festivities. With some I joked and said I only had enough money to slaughter a carrot, but for those pushier people, I said that I don’t take part in slaughterings. That was a lie, but I find it interesting that to most people, the aïd al-adha is as much cultural as religious. Do people forget to quickly the reason why every family is required to slaughter an animal, as an offering to God? This info tidbit, brought to us by socialstudiesforkids.com will help us understand why the baaaaaahs must end:

“Eid-Al-Adha is one of the major holidays of Islam. According to Muslim tradition, it celebrates the sacrifice that Abraham was willing to make of his own son Ishmael when he was commanded to show his commitment to Allah. At Allah’s direction, the angel Gabriel substituted a lamb for Ishmael, after Allah was convinced that Abraham would indeed sacrifice Ishmael to prove his faith.

On this day, Muslims celebrate in several ways. A large feast is the high point of the day. The name of the holiday, Eid Al-Adha, means “The Feast of the Sacrifice.” An animal is sacrificed, in much the same way that Abraham sacrificed a lamb. One-third of the meat is given to the poor, and the rest goes to the holiday feast. Children get gifts to commemorate the holiday, and special prayers are said throughout the day.

Eid Al-Adha takes place on the 10th and last day of the Hajj, the celebration of holy pilgrimage to Mecca, in the 12th month of the Islamic lunar calendar. (In 2005, this is January 21 on Western calendars.) Muslims the world over are encouraged to make a pilgrimage to Mecca and celebrate.”

Anyways, I’m going to be going to my host families for the festivities. This time last year I was in Béni Mellal, where my host family slaughtered three sheep. This year it will only be one, Hamdullah! Oh, but if you want to see pictures from last year, check out my newly, ugly-colored, foto section. You have to register to see the Aïd Al-Kabir photos because some western people might have queasy stomachs.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 20th, 2005 at 22:16 and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.