The Origin of Islamic Eid al-Adha and Its Cultural Characteristics

Eid al-Adha is one of the major Islamic festivals. The Arabic translation of Eid al-Uzuhaye, also known as Eid al-Uzuhaye, means "offering sacrifices" and "offering sacrifices", which is also one of the main rituals of pilgrimage homework. Let's learn about Eid al-Adha in Islamic culture.

The origin of Eid al-Adha

According to ancient Arab religious legends, Ibrahim, the "prophet", dreamed of God at night and ordered him to slaughter his son Ismail Leyi to test his loyalty to God. When Ibrahim raised his knife as promised, God sent a special envoy to the scene with a sheep and ordered him to kill the sheep instead of offering his son. Since then, the custom of annual sacrifice has been formed in Arab countries. After Islam came into being, it recognized the Prophet Ibrahim as the Holy Father and inherited this ceremony, and designated1February 10 of the Islamic calendar as Eid al-Adha. The Gregorian calendar used in China differs from the Islamic calendar by eleven days every year, so the Gregorian calendar date of Eid al-Adha is not fixed every year. Muslims who use Chinese in China generally call Eid al-Adha "Little Eid al-Fitr".

Cultural characteristics of Eid al-Adha

1, hold a ceremony, Muslims gather in big mosques or public places to hold grand ceremonies and celebrations.

2. Slaughtering: Muslims generally prepare animals to be slaughtered before the festival. Animals must be healthy and can be divided into three types according to the family's economic situation: camel, cow and sheep. Divide the slaughtered meat into three parts, keep it for yourself, give it to relatives and friends, and give it to the poor.

According to traditional rules, Muslims bathe and change clothes in the early hours of Eid al-Adha, go to the mosque to worship and pay homage to their ancestors. Before the festival, every Muslim household cleaned up, made all kinds of cakes, fried cakes, baked cakes and made new clothes to prepare for the festival. Muslims go home to kill cattle and sheep after worship in the mosque. Cook the meat chef, giving alms to the poor and entertaining guests. Young men and women talked and laughed, sang and danced, and held various celebrations. During the festival, the atmosphere is full of joy.