How Muslims Celebrate Eid-Ul-Adha Around the World
Eid Ul Adha is a joyous occasion; a time to celebrate, bury old hatchets, forge new friendships and celebrate with the family. The whole Muslim Ummah celebrates Eid Ul Adha together however, depending on the region, Eid festivities vary with each having its own unique cultural touch and flare.
South Asia – India
Bakrid as Eid ul Adha is a festival that is celebrated with traditional fervor and gaiety in India. Many Muslims wear new clothes and attend an open-air prayer meeting during Eid-ul-adha. They may sacrifice a sheep or goat and share the meat with family members, neighbors and the poor. Many Muslims feel that they have a duty to ensure that all Muslims can enjoy a good meal during this holiday.
Eid al-Adha is a gazetted holiday in India. All local, state and national government workplaces shall remain closed on the festival day. The commercial outlets owned by Muslims may remain closed or have reduced business hours. The public transport is not disturbed.
While Bakra Eid has religious significance, it is a time of merriment for everyone, especially Muslims. They wear new clothes and offer their prayers to Allah. After offering their prayers, they hug each other and exchange greetings. Women’s participation in the festivities is different in different countries, however they celebrate by making delicious delicacies. Even children enjoy by asking for ‘Eidi’ and decorating their houses.
The best destinations for the Eid
New Delhi: New Delhi, the cosmopolitan city, celebrates both forms of Eid in a grand manner. Thousands of Muslims gather at the Jama Masjid to submit prayers to the God. The festival meals are being prepared by the restaurants in the city.
Srinagar: Srinagar, the capital city of Jammu and Kashmir, city has its own history as far as the festival of Eid al-Adha is concerned. The Muslims across the nation visit this destination to pray at the Aasar-e-Shareef Hazratbal. The festival meals are offered by restaurants and stalls. Visitors can shop at Goni Market, Lal Chawk and Regal Chowk.
Lucknow: Lucknow, a town of Nawabs, is famous for many things. The city offers a plenty of points for its gastronomy. Muslims visit Lucknow to submit prayers to the God at Aishbagh Eidgah, which is the largest common praying place in the city.
Kolkata: Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal, celebrates the festival of Eid al-Adha grandly. The destination attracts thousands of Muslim on the festival day. Consider this place to spend Eid al-Adha 2018 with your friends and families.
Hyderabad: Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, is also called the city of Nizams. Many Muslims across the country visit Charminar to pray on the festival day. Like other cities, the festival meals are being served by stalls and hotels. The famous spots for celebrations include Madannapet and Masab Tank.
South Asia – Pakistan
Eid-Ul-Adha is a 4 day religious holiday in Pakistan. On the day of Eid, all shops are closed and people spend most of the day in prayer in the morning followed by performing the Qurbani festivities in the afternoon and evening. Families start gathering together during the day and at night, they have a nice family dinner. They exchange gifts and some lucky children even get some spending money!
It doesn’t matter which part of the world you live in, the Eid prayer, the concluding sermon and the Udhiya are the same for everyone. Everything afterwards, varies according to region, culture, and even geography.
South Asia – Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a Muslim majority country. Eid al Adha being the seond most important festival Bangladeshi’s enjoy three to four days of public holidays People also call it Qurbani Eid in here. Bangladeshi Muslims sacrifice their domestic animals like cows and goats during the Eid-ul-adha.
The Joy of Eid starts long before with shopping. People buy new dresses for themselves, their families, friends and fore families. Punjabi is the most favorite dress during Eid for men. For women, its shari and salwar kamiz. Eid gift is very traditional in the country as well.
Specially in the Eid-ul-Adha there are Animal Huts at the renowned open places (Like fields etc) of the country, people buy animals from there for Qurbani.
No matter how long the distance is every Bangladeshi travels home for the festival. Every village home become full during this period. People gathers everywhere in the Streets and Bazars of the home town, they meet with their family, friends, relatives and neighbors, they may not have met for months or even years. They greet each other and embrace. Hence all the transports become overloaded during then and make it to the world news as the Bangladeshi travel woes.
Europe and America
Muslims living in Western and European countries no doubt miss the Eid festivities back home but that doesn’t dampen their spirits nor their celebrations. Muslims living in these regions usually skip breakfast and go straight for Eid prayers. After the prayers and sermon, they have a huge feast with family and friends. Due to the increasingly active work lifestyle of these countries and the fact these are predominantly non-Muslim regions, it is also very common to see people going straight to work or school after Eid and they celebrate as a family over the weekend.
Middle East – Egypt
Eid Ul Adha is more commonly known as Eid el-Kibr in Egypt. The day starts off the same; Eid Prayers followed by a sermon which is then followed by family gatherings and a huge feast. The people of Egypt donate Qurbani meat very generously. The wealthy as well as numerous charity organisations give Qurbani meat and other food necessities to all those in need in order to honour the Sunna of Prophet Ibrahim.
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