“Eid-el-Adha”, literally “Festival of the Sacrifice” or “Sacrifice Feast” in Arabic, is one of the most important Muslim holidays after Eid-al-Fitr (religious holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan).

This holiday takes place every year, conducted by Muslims worldwide and it is a big deal for most traditional Muslim societies. The date of the Eid changes from year to year, as it depends on moon sighting, and it occurs the 10th day of the Dhu-al-Hijjah lunar month, and it marks the start of the pilgrimage to Mecca.

The festival is traditionally four days long, but the celebration of the public holiday varies depending on the country.

What do they celebrate?

Indeed, it’s a very well-known story for all the three monotheistic religion followers. It commemorates the day when the prophet Abraham was ready to sacrifice one of his sons to show his obedience to God but Gabriel (the angel of the Lord) came just in time to tell Abraham there was no need, and that he could offer an animal instead. The selected animal was an inoffensive lamb.

The only difference in the story for Muslims, Christians and Jews is a matter of belief: Muslims think the selected son would be Ishmael, Abraham’s first son and the father of Islam. Meanwhile, Christians and Jews think it was Isaac, Abraham’s second son and one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites.

How do they celebrate it?

Basically, they copy the sacrifice. Eid-el-Adha is the occasion to gather with family around a table loaded with food and chaired by the king of the day: the sacrified lamb.

Ceremonial killings in slaughterhouses, in parks and even in the streets are seen as part of Eid al-Adha.

Families are expected to sacrifice good-quality animals. Weeks in advance, traditional Muslim families start the race to find the best lamb, many of them getting heavily into debt or asking for loans, at the expense of other basic needs for this period as school material or basic provisions. Kids spend days playing with those animals prior to their sacrifice, which turns into some big dramas at the time of the slaughter. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to see those same children becoming friends with the lambs playing football with their empty heads during the holiday. Gross.

This lamb has to be cut into three pieces and shared amongst the community: one third for the family, one third for neighbors and friends, one third for the poor and needy.

Why do they celebrate?

The act is meant to symbolize the Muslims willingness to give up things that are of benefit in order to follow Allah’s commands.

Here’s to say, the sacrifice is not compulsory for Muslims, it’s just a tradition followed by many. In fact, young singles and couples already refuse to spend up to $400 in buying an animal for sacrificing it. In more modern Muslim cities like Casablanca or Rabat in Morocco, it’s even seen as an unnecessary effort, both economical and moral. Most of the meat ends up in the rubbish and people is not a great fan of this kind of meat. They prefer spending their money and their holidays travelling around the country or abroad, rather than staying in a blood flooded city.