The sighting of the moon last night marked the beginning of the second Eid, Eid Al-Adha. This is the "Festival of Sacrifice". It is a celebration of Abraham's passing of a trial from God, showing his willingness to sacrifice. Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Ishmael to God, but the devil tempted him to disobey. Abraham overcame temptation, willing to make the sacrifice, when God intervened and gave him a lamb to sacrifice instead.
Eid Al-Adha also marks the end of the Haji, the annual Muslim pilgrimmage to Mecca, and the reason for the postponement (again) of the Bangladeshi national elections.
Most of what I know about the actual celebration of this Eid comes from the ex-Palestinian taxi driver that drove us from Amman, Jordan to Petra around this time last year [here I take pause to reflect on the past 1.5 years with a smile]. It's all very simple. Step One, he says: Slaughter a goat. Step Two: Divide goat into three parts. One part for the family, one part for the neighbors, and one part for the poor. In Bangladesh, they seem to use cows instead of goats. Unfortunately, I don't have a goat, a cow, or even a sheep. So for all you at home, no need to anticipate an excitingly hairy and grisly package any time soon.
the slaughter
(seen from my window)
(seen from my window)
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"Unfortunately, I don't have a goat, a cow, or even a sheep."
ReplyDeleteSuddenly I find you much less attractive Cindy.
lol.