Eid Mubarak!

Eid Mubarak (Happy Eid)!

It’s Eid al-Adha (the first day of Adha)!  Adha is a fun and important holiday here in Lebanon. The streets are bare, school is canceled, stores are closed, families get together, and sheep are slaughtered.  We actually saw a sheep being slaughtered on our way to breakfast this morning.  Eww...

Eid al-Adha (festival of sacrifice) is a Muslim holiday that honors Abraham, or as he is referred to here “Ibraheem”,  who was obediently willing to sacrifice his son. This story is found both in the Qu’ran and the Bible. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son but before he before he lowered the knife, God provided a ram to die in his place. After understanding the basis of Adha you can see that the slaughtering is really an important part of the tradition, celebrating that God provided a sacrifice for Abraham. 

Some Muslims go on hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca, and return home for Adha to decorated homes and celebrating.  A hallmark custom of Adha is giving to the poor; many families give to poor during this holiday to demonstrate their care and concern.

The Lebanese celebrate with a big family meal and sometimes gifts.  Some families pray and read from the Qu’ran together.   And I can hear music from our living room right now; it's been playing all day!

I think most of my Lebanese friends who read this are going to think, "Well duh!" and most of my American friends will be like, "No way!"

Well, to whomever you are, Happy Adha!