What happens on the first day of Eid al-Adha?

CAIRO – 1 September 2017: All of the Muslim nations over the world wake up today to start their celebrations with one of their two holy feasts, Eid al-Adha, which concurs with the Islamic pilgrimage (hajj).

Muslims have regular and well-known customs and traditions for their celebrations, which usually includes praying, slaughtering animals, family gatherings, visiting relatives and hanging out.

Eid al-Adha prayer takes place early morning, which will be at 5:57a.m. this year, according to Dar al-Ifta (religious governmental body established in order to issue Muslims religious advices; ‘Fatwa’).

Several mosques all over the country have a long and familiar reputation in hosting Eid prayers including, Amr ibn al-As mosque in Fustat, Ibn Tulun mosque in Al Sayeda Zainab, Moustafa Mahmoud mosque in Mohandseen and Al-Azhar Mosque.

Never too old for Eidi

Eidi, or as we usually call it (Ediea), is one of the most joyfulcustoms during Eid. Elders in families including fathers, uncles, grandfathers and mothers give an amount of money as a gift to the youngsters. And because of this we never wish to get older, it’s free money!

Most people take the chance of having several following days off to leave Cairo, going back to their families intheir original governorates and citiesto spend the holiday with them.

Cinemas...Maybe!

Going out for cinemas and gardens to celebrate Eid used to be one of the familiar and well-known customs for Egyptians during holidays; however due to overcrowding in public places duringthese times, most families prefer to remain at home with their relatives, considering safer.

Also the frequent and repeated incidents of sexual harassments during Eid on the streets became one of the major reasons behind women’s decision to spend their vacations at home, despite the emergency state declared by the Interior Ministry and NGOs.

Dear Arabs...Say hi to our resorts, please

Although Eid is an official vacation, people can use it to travel and enjoy their time off, but as a matter of fact, the question we should ask ourselves would be “do we really take vacations?” And the answer would seriously be, no!

Journalists, doctors, police officers, restaurants, waiters, pubic transportations workers, and most of the private sector employees don’t seem to have long vacations due to their job requirements. But only those who work in governmental entities and organizations, along with Arab neighbors, choose to spend their vacations in Egypt, and enjoy the Eid vacation on beaches.

Why Muslims sacrifice (slaughter) animals?

During the four-day celebration of Eid al-Adha, Muslims honor the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obeying God's command.

However, in the Quran, before Ibrahim had put the knife to his son’s neck, God ordered him to stop and sacrifice a sheep instead of Ismail. Since then, Muslims sacrifice sheep after praying during the first day as one of the celebration’s ritual ceremonies. Most of the sheep’s meat is given to the poor and needy.