Eid ul Adha

Today is the beginning of the Eid ul Adha (the feast of sacrifice). It is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims and Druze worldwide as a commemoration of Ibrahim's (Abraham) willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael to Allah. It is one of two Eid festivals, whose basis comes from the Quran. There are some traditions associated with this Eid: Men, women, and children are expected to dress in their finest clothing to perform the Eid prayer in the mosque. The accountant here at ACOR was telling me the other day that she was taking her 13 year old daughter to the dreaded Mecca Mall to buy some new clothes for the Eid. We were talking about the tradition of getting new clothes for certain holidays (the Eid, or in my family it was Easter) and how everyone does it on the same day, at the same hour, in the same crowded malls. It doesn't seem to matter where in the world you are, shopping at the holidays is a nightmare.

Those who can afford to do so sacrifice their best domestic animals (usually sheep, but also camels, cows, and goats) as a symbol of Ibrahim's (Abraham's) sacrifice.
These cut outs of sheep with a telephone number are all over Amman - telling you when and where to get your sheep for the Eid. Last year while we were here for the Eid we just happened to be out in the city when the butchering was taking place. Lucky for you we have no pictures of sheep being slaughtered for the Eid. According to the Quran a large portion of the slaughtered sheep should be given to less-fortunate families so everyone can partake of the Eid. This is also the festival that occurs the day after the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca - the holiest Muslim site.