Muslims in South Jersey celebrated Eid-Al-Adha on Tuesday with prayer, games, food and family.
“For us, this is kind of like Christmas,” said Shaida Giwa, 47, of the Sicklerville section of Winslow Township. “We go to each other’s houses, we give gifts of food and money.”
Eid-Al-Adha, sometimes known as “Big Eid” or the “Eid of Sacrifice,” commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his only son, Ismail, as an act of obedience to God. Instead, God sent a sheep to be sacrificed instead.
The three-day festival also marks the end of the Hajj, or the period of time when Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Muhammad’s birthplace.
After a morning of prayer, many members of the Muslim community gathered at the International Sports Center in Cherry Hill for a morning of roller skating, soccer games, meals and catching up.
Most greeted each other with two hugs, one on the right, one on the left, and wished each other “Eid Mubarak,” or “Happy Eid.”
Tags: eid al-adha, muslims in america, religious freedom usa
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