Tomorrow is Eid al-Adha, الأضحى, Feast of
Sacrifice, L3id Nufeska… any and all of the previous!
This will be my second L3id here in Morocco
and I couldn’t be more excited. Some
volunteers stock up and hide in their homes for the holiday, others try to
travel to avoid the day but I have been counting down the days for about a
month now (which isn’t easy since it’s a lunar holiday and I thought it was
going to be on the 8th until about a week ago!). Last year the idea of L3id was a bit
overwhelming since I had no idea what to expect, but this year I’m ready!
So—what is
L3id, you ask? (Wow- who knew my blog
would be so informative?)
Eid al-Adha is celebrated annually on the 10th day of the 12th and the last Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar. Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the Hajj (Hajj= the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide) The date is approximately 70 days (2 Months & 10 days) after the end of the month of Ramadan. Wikipedia L3id Info
“Ibrahim, known as Abraham in the Christian and Jewish traditions, was commanded by God to sacrifice his adult son. He obeyed and took Ishmael (Ismail or Ismael) to Mount Moriah. Just as he was to sacrifice his son, an angel stopped him and gave him a ram to sacrifice in place of his son. Some people dispute that the son of sacrifice was Isaac (Isḥāq). Regardless, these events are remembered and celebrated at Eid al-Adha. At Eid al-Adha, many Muslims make a special effort to pray and listen to a sermon at a mosque. They also wear new clothes, visit family members and friends and may symbolically sacrifice an animal in an act known as qurbani. This represents the animal that Ibrahim sacrificed in the place of his son. In some traditionally Muslim countries (Like Morocco) families or groups of families may purchase an animal known as udhiya, usually a goat or sheep, to sacrifice" L3id Information
Go to those links for more information… its really interesting
stuff and I was tempted to just copy and paste the whole thing, but thought I’d
lose some people. (Which might have
happened anyway- but oh well!)
Here in Morocco families purchase a ram to sacrifice to symbolize
these events. It’s a huge holiday (Think
Christmas almost everywhere else in the world). Schools and all official
buildings close for the week and family members all travel home to spend the
holiday together. All the kids get new
clothes to wear for the holiday and the meat from the animal is eaten
throughout the week- every single part!
I asked my friends what their favorite parts of the Ram were yesterday
and their answers were the liver (Agree- DELISH!) the eyes and the head. Families that can afford it usually have
multiple rams (my host family had 2 last year).
….And tomorrows the day!! I’ve
promised my friend Jamila that I’d spend the slaughter (usually at about 930
am- after the king kills his ram) with her family. I took lots of pictures last year, but I want
to get a video of the event this year so look for that (if you’ve got the stomach
for it!). I’m going to make some
chocolate no-bake cookies-they’re a hit here since they are so sweet- to bring
over too. After Jamila’s I have 2 other
families I promised I’d go see and walking between houses usually means having
to stop, have tea, and make kababs (my favorite part of l3id) at various others
homes. So- needless to say, tomorrow
will be a long, exciting and VERY full of meat day :)
Eid Mubarak!
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