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| From Canada to Syria, Muslims Tell Us What Eid al-Adha Means to Them | From Canada to Syria, Muslims Tell Us What Eid al-Adha Means to Them |
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| One of the biggest holidays of the Islamic calendar, Eid al-Adha, has been under observance since Tuesday, with as many as 1.8 billion Muslims celebrating. | One of the biggest holidays of the Islamic calendar, Eid al-Adha, has been under observance since Tuesday, with as many as 1.8 billion Muslims celebrating. |
| Translated from Arabic as Feast of Sacrifice, the four-day holiday commemorates the Quranic tale of the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son, and marks the climax of the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. Many Muslims celebrate the holiday by slaughtering livestock and distributing meat among neighbors, family members and the poor. | Translated from Arabic as Feast of Sacrifice, the four-day holiday commemorates the Quranic tale of the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son, and marks the climax of the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. Many Muslims celebrate the holiday by slaughtering livestock and distributing meat among neighbors, family members and the poor. |
| We asked our readers to share their celebratory traditions and to explain what Eid al-Adha means to them. We published a few of their stories below. They have been condensed and slightly edited. | We asked our readers to share their celebratory traditions and to explain what Eid al-Adha means to them. We published a few of their stories below. They have been condensed and slightly edited. |
| Ever since I left Syria over five years ago, Eid means spending a day or two stuck to my smartphone texting, FaceTiming and calling family and friends. Many of them still live in Syria; though the majority are spread all over the globe. | Ever since I left Syria over five years ago, Eid means spending a day or two stuck to my smartphone texting, FaceTiming and calling family and friends. Many of them still live in Syria; though the majority are spread all over the globe. |
| When I was still home, Eid usually meant catching up with all family members, neighbors and friends. Not to mention the food, desserts and coffee. | When I was still home, Eid usually meant catching up with all family members, neighbors and friends. Not to mention the food, desserts and coffee. |
| The things I miss most about it are having the special Eid breakfast with my parents on Eid’s first morning, and, of course, grandma’s date cookies. | |
| Grandma tells me that she still always makes my favorite date cookies every Eid when I call her. — Saeb Sadek, Bielefeld, Germany | |
| This Eid was slightly different than ones prior. A week ago, my first cousin was diagnosed with a cancer. As the news spread across family and friends, love and support began pouring in. People showed up from hours away to drop off groceries, to deliver meals, and to take shifts babysitting her three kids all under 5. | This Eid was slightly different than ones prior. A week ago, my first cousin was diagnosed with a cancer. As the news spread across family and friends, love and support began pouring in. People showed up from hours away to drop off groceries, to deliver meals, and to take shifts babysitting her three kids all under 5. |
| On the day of Eid, after gathering up the strength we could muster, we celebrated. And I realized what Eid was about: reflecting and appreciating the community you have created in a world that sometimes requires strength greater than just your own. — Kinza Haq, New York City | On the day of Eid, after gathering up the strength we could muster, we celebrated. And I realized what Eid was about: reflecting and appreciating the community you have created in a world that sometimes requires strength greater than just your own. — Kinza Haq, New York City |
| As a child, I would get excited during the sacrifice ritual and tried to help whichever way I could. In my teenage years, I gradually lost interest and sometimes wouldn’t even leave bed until the blood was swept off. | As a child, I would get excited during the sacrifice ritual and tried to help whichever way I could. In my teenage years, I gradually lost interest and sometimes wouldn’t even leave bed until the blood was swept off. |
| Today, it has been six years since I left Morocco and I don’t miss it at all. I don’t tolerate the sight of chaos that reigns in the streets, the bloody gutters and putrefaction smells. | Today, it has been six years since I left Morocco and I don’t miss it at all. I don’t tolerate the sight of chaos that reigns in the streets, the bloody gutters and putrefaction smells. |
| My stance isn’t related to any ideological position toward animal rights, nor is it due to my being an atheist. I simply outgrew it somehow and now find this day an unreasonable weight put on many poor families, in societies where there are much higher priorities, among which is a necessary improvement of hygiene and health care. — Anass Cherki, Nantes, France | My stance isn’t related to any ideological position toward animal rights, nor is it due to my being an atheist. I simply outgrew it somehow and now find this day an unreasonable weight put on many poor families, in societies where there are much higher priorities, among which is a necessary improvement of hygiene and health care. — Anass Cherki, Nantes, France |
| Eid al-Adha helps me mark the passage of time in my life, gives me an opportunity to appreciate what’s important (financial stability over fancy toys, and good health over new clothes). — Reem Edan, Los Angeles | Eid al-Adha helps me mark the passage of time in my life, gives me an opportunity to appreciate what’s important (financial stability over fancy toys, and good health over new clothes). — Reem Edan, Los Angeles |
| The child of relatively secular Muslim-American immigrants from Tunisia, I experienced a celebration of Eid that has never been religious. As a kid, it meant a day off school and a trip to Chuck E. Cheese’s. As an adult, I take the day off work and join the rest of my family for a day of barbecuing. | The child of relatively secular Muslim-American immigrants from Tunisia, I experienced a celebration of Eid that has never been religious. As a kid, it meant a day off school and a trip to Chuck E. Cheese’s. As an adult, I take the day off work and join the rest of my family for a day of barbecuing. |
| I don’t think we’ve ever gone to a mosque on Eid. | I don’t think we’ve ever gone to a mosque on Eid. |
| For me, the ritual of Islamic holidays has always been a cultural celebration defined by food, maybe music and dancing, and, above all, the warm embrace of family. The religious observance isn’t completely lost on anyone, but we take it for granted. | For me, the ritual of Islamic holidays has always been a cultural celebration defined by food, maybe music and dancing, and, above all, the warm embrace of family. The religious observance isn’t completely lost on anyone, but we take it for granted. |
| The only time anyone mentions Eid is when an arriving relative is greeted, Eid Mubarak! It’s interwoven into our rhythm of Tunisian-Arab-Islam. And with the lamb chops (and merguez) on the grill, to that unique blend we can now add American. — Khelil Bouarrouj, Virginia | The only time anyone mentions Eid is when an arriving relative is greeted, Eid Mubarak! It’s interwoven into our rhythm of Tunisian-Arab-Islam. And with the lamb chops (and merguez) on the grill, to that unique blend we can now add American. — Khelil Bouarrouj, Virginia |
| Eid al-Adha is my cousin gripping my sweaty hand when we are both little girls. | Eid al-Adha is my cousin gripping my sweaty hand when we are both little girls. |
| We had followed our families out of her parents’ house into a field, or some kind of central open area. We both see and try not to see a cow, crying, as her throat is being slit by a man who is audibly praying. The blood does not spurt, nor does it trickle; it flows down her neck in a steady stream. | We had followed our families out of her parents’ house into a field, or some kind of central open area. We both see and try not to see a cow, crying, as her throat is being slit by a man who is audibly praying. The blood does not spurt, nor does it trickle; it flows down her neck in a steady stream. |
| Later, my father would bring home a prize cut, her tail, and my mother would tell me that she had felt no pain, because the man slaughtering her had said the right prayers. | Later, my father would bring home a prize cut, her tail, and my mother would tell me that she had felt no pain, because the man slaughtering her had said the right prayers. |
| It was the first time I felt unsure of the power of prayer. — Amirah Al Idrus, Washington | It was the first time I felt unsure of the power of prayer. — Amirah Al Idrus, Washington |
| It means sacrifice, universality and connectivity with humanity. Those who go for Hajj see people from all walks of life, ethnicities, nations, united in their worship of one God. | It means sacrifice, universality and connectivity with humanity. Those who go for Hajj see people from all walks of life, ethnicities, nations, united in their worship of one God. |
| We go for community prayers, meet community members and visit family throughout the day. It is also a renewed sense of commitment to the faith, and a remembrance of our duty to those less fortunate. — Sheema Khan, Ottawa | We go for community prayers, meet community members and visit family throughout the day. It is also a renewed sense of commitment to the faith, and a remembrance of our duty to those less fortunate. — Sheema Khan, Ottawa |
| As Eid al-Adha coincides with Hajj in Mecca, it can be thought of as an assertion of human equality. Muslims from all across the world, from different colors, races and cultures take a stand in one place, eat from the same food, from the same dish, drink the same water, wear the same clothes and bow to one God. No one is better than the other, and no one is less. — Abdul Rahman, Damascus, Syria | As Eid al-Adha coincides with Hajj in Mecca, it can be thought of as an assertion of human equality. Muslims from all across the world, from different colors, races and cultures take a stand in one place, eat from the same food, from the same dish, drink the same water, wear the same clothes and bow to one God. No one is better than the other, and no one is less. — Abdul Rahman, Damascus, Syria |
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