Eid al-Adha is a celebratory occasion for Muslims besides Eid al-Fitr. Some people called Eid al-Adha as the feast of sacrifice. This is because during the Eid al-Adha Muslims will mark the holiday by slaughtering animals. Generally, the animals sacrificed during Eid al-Adha are either cows or goats. The occasion is also often characterized as the peak of Hajj pilgrimage. Hence, some called Eid al-Adha as the Eid of Hajj.
Eid al-Adha is an official national holiday as set by the Government of Indonesia. The date for Eid al-Adha is calculated based on the Islamic calendar, to be exact, on the 10th day of Dhul Hijjah month. It is to be noted that, Dhul Hijjah is the last month in the Islamic calendar. Every year, Eid al-Adha falls on the 70th day after Eid Mubarak.
| Year | Date | Day | Public Holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 12 August | Monday | Eid Adha |
| 2020 | 31 July | Friday | Eid Adha |
Eid al-Adha holiday in 2020 is forecast to fall on Friday, 31 July. This, of course, means that you can take the advantage to take a long weekend break from Friday to Sunday. For you who don’t go home to celebrate Eid, take this opportunity to have a family holiday. Bali or Lombok are some of the favorite destinations for the domestic destinations. If you fancy traveling abroad, neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong are great options too.
Before the slaughtering of the animals, Muslims will first gather for mass prayers. After that, the committee of Eid al-Adha will slaughter the animals in turns. Of course, before the slaughter, the slaughterman will say some prayer. During the slaughtering, the knife used has to be at its sharpest to ensure the animal will die quickly.
Once the process is finished, the meat will be distributed into three portions. The first portion is given to the family who owns the animal, the second portion will be given to relatives or people living around the society, and lastly, the third portion will be given to people in need.
It is an easy task to find various tradition during Eid al-Adha in Indonesia. In Bali, where there are more Hindus than Muslims, Eid al-Adha is still celebrated widely. Muslims in Bali use this holiday with ngejot tradition, where Muslims will distribute food to their neighbors including to the non-Muslims ones. If you are interested in watching this tradition, you can visit Petang Village in Badung.
Interestingly, animal slaughtering is still allowed in Bali despite cows being protected by the Hindus. In Hinduism, cows are the symbol of welfare and prosperity for all creatures living on earth. Ngejot tradition shows the high tolerance among Balinese. So, there is no need to worry about celebrating Eid al-Adha in Bali.
In Indonesia, Eid al-Adha is officially made into a national holiday. However, this doesn’t apply to other countries, such as the United States. Even then, Eid al-Adha is still considered as an official holiday for a public school in New York. While people who are living in Canada, there is a holiday exemption for people celebrating Eid al-Adha. Animal slaughtering is done behind a closed area to avoid attention, also to respect vegetarians to be traumatized or scared.
Meanwhile, Eid al-Adha is also celebrated in the European countries. The highest Muslims population in Europe live in East London. Besides that, some are living in other areas such as Blackburn, Slough, Luton, Birmingham, Leicester, and Manchester. Aside from animal slaughtering, Muslims living in Europe also has a unique tradition to gather in local mosques to enjoy Indian curry and Turkish baklava for a feast.
Are you planning to use Eid al-Adha to go on holiday with the family? Make sure to plan your holiday in advance. Eid al-Adha holiday is a popular choice for people to go traveling, no wonder, flight tickets, and hotel rates are often high around this time of the year. Why not book your flights and hotel using Traveloka?
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