September 24-

On Wednesday September 23^rd to Thursday September 24^th was a very important holiday in the Islamic religion known as Eid-al-Adha.  This holiday falls on the 10^th day of the final month in the Islamic calendar.  Accordingly, this holiday honors Abraham’s commitment to sacrifice his son in accordance to the will of God (however, before Abraham sacrificed his son, God interfered and commanded the sacrifice not to happen).  The sacrifice that a Muslim family makes is usually the killing of a ram (a male sheep), but they can also sacrifice larger animals.  The number of animals sacrificed per family can vary on how large the family is and how wealthy the family is.  Selecting the animal to buy is very important.  The family is supposed to get the ram(s) (for example) for as much as they can afford in order to give God the best that they can afford.  The meat from the sacrificed animal is separated into three parts; the family keeps one share, the second share is given to relatives and friends, and the third share is given to the poor.  Almost all of the animal (the organs and the meat) is consumed through various dishes for several days after Eid.  The families usually throw out the skin of the animal by leaving it in front of their house to be collected (which then can be turned into leather products).  I honestly did not know what to expect on this holiday since I have not seen an animal slaughtered in person.  I now have eaten different types of food that I thought I would never try, such as the liver and the stomach of an animal.  It was definitely a vastly different cultural experience that I am glad I was able to experience first-hand.