The Muslim Festival of Eid-ul-Adha 2020 | News and Events

The Muslim Festival of Eid-ul-Adha 2020

Eid Festivals

In Islam, there are two major festivals each year, Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha celebrated by Muslims as traditional feast days.

The Festival of Eid-ul Adha is expected to take place on the 31 July 2020. The dates of festivals are reliant on a sighting of the new moon and will therefore vary from year to year. Whilst approximate dates will be known well in advance, it is not always possible to give a definitive date until much nearer to the time.

Eid-ul-Adha ('Celebration of Sacrifice') is the second most important festival in the Muslim calendar. It marks the end of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca). It takes place on the 10th day of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Although only pilgrims to Makkah can celebrate it fully, Muslims elsewhere also mark the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha.

 

What does Eid-ul-Adha Celebrate?

Eid-ul-Adha celebrates the occasion when Allah appeared to Ibrahim (Abraham) in a dream and asked him to sacrifice his son Isma'il as an act of obedience to God. The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim (Abraham) was about to kill his son, Allah intervened: instead Allah provided a lamb as the sacrifice. This is why today all over the world Muslims who have the means to, sacrifice a sheep (alternatively a goat or cow can be used), as a reminder of Ibrahim's (Abraham’s) obedience to Allah. They usually share out the meat with family and friends, as well as the poorer members of the community. In Britain, the animal has to be killed at a slaughterhouse.

 

Eid-ul-Adha Today

Eid-ul-Adha is a day of celebration and in Muslim countries is a public holiday. It starts with Muslims praying dressed in their best clothes, and thanking Allah for all the blessings they have received. At Eid it is obligatory to give a set amount of money to charity to be used to help poor people buy new clothes and food so they too can celebrate.

These festivals are both meant to celebrate the divine mercy shown in revelation and guidance and the human response in submission and sacrifice.

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