Eid Mubarek

Today is Eid Al Adha (festival of sacrifice) which is celebrated at the end of the Hajj. It is a major Muslim holiday and means everyone is off work, school, etc… A big part of the EID holiday is that the Muslim’s butcher cows and sheep to commemorate the tale of Abraham and his son Issac. They eat some and give the rest of the meat to the poor. Last year my neighbors butchered a cow and we were able to participate.


This year low and behold they were again butchering, not just a cow, but sheep as well. I arrived a bit earlier this year so witnessed the full event. It truly is amazing as they hire people to butcher the animal in front of them(one of the family members even has to chop the head off the animals) and they all sit around drinking tea, coffee, and eating.





Many of the street cleaners (yes people not machines clean the streets here) were waiting around for their share of the meat. The family also gave them all money. Very generous.

Quite the social event and I felt honored that they included us and welcomed us with open arms. A neat chance to interact with my neighbors and meet their children. They of course sent us home again with meat….

Does that mean they think we are poor? Kidding of course, they are really just very kind.

* Here is an excerpt from an online article about the slaughtering of sheep during Eid:
“Muslims need the lamb meat to celebrate the holiday, which commemorates the ancient tale of Abraham, who placed his son Isaac on an altar as a sacrifice to appease a divine demand. An angel appeared at the last moment with a ram to take Isaac's place. For Muslims, a meal of lamb during Eid al-Adha is as important as turkey is to Americans on Thanksgiving Day. They eat the meat themselves and also give some away to those in need, in observance of Quranic law.”