Eid
ul-Adha
At
a glance... |
Official name |
Arabic:
عيد الأضح
|
Also called |
The
Festival of Sacrifice, Sacrifice Feast, Tabaski, Eyd-e Qorban, Kurban
Bayram?, Qurbani Eid (In Bangladesh), Bakr-Id, Hari Raya Haji, Hari
Raya Aidiladha
|
Observed by |
Muslims
|
Type |
Islamic
|
Significance |
Commemoration
of Prophet Ibrahim's (Abraham's) willingness to sacrifice his son
for God. Marks the end of the Pilgrimage or Hajj for the millions
of Muslims who make the trip to Mecca each year.
|
Begins |
10
Dhu al-Hijjah
|
Ends |
12
Dhu al-Hijjah |
2006 date |
January
10 to January 12; December 31 to January 2, 2007
|
2007 date |
December
20 to December 22
|
Observances |
Prayer,
Sacrificing a Goat/Sheep, Eating with Family and Friends
|
Related to |
Eid
ul-Fitr, the other Islamic festival, which occurs the first day after
Ramadan
|
Other Names for Eid ul-Adha
Eid ul-Adha is also known as Hari Raya
Haji/Iduladha/Qurban in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines;
Eid el-Kbir in Morocco and Libya; Tfaska Tamoqqart in the Berber language of
Jerba; and Tabaski or Tobaski in West Africa.
In Bangladesh, Pakistan and India it
is also called Id ul-Zuha, and commonly referred to as Bakr-Id "Goat Eid"
as goat is the major sacrificial animal in those countries.
In Turkey it is often referred to as
the Kurban Bayrami or "Sacrifice Feast". Similarly, in Bosnia and
Albania it is referred as Kurban Bajram.
Eid ul-Adha in the Gregorian
Calendar
While Eid ul-Adha is always on the same
day of the Islamic calendar, the date on the Gregorian calendar varies from
year to year since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar and the Gregorian
calendar is a solar calendar. Each year, Eid ul-Adha (like other Islamic holidays)
falls on one of two different Gregorian dates in different parts of the world,
due to the fact that the boundary of crescent visibility is different from the
International date line. Furthermore, some countries follow the date in Saudi
Arabia rather than the astronomically determined local calendar.
* 2005: January 21; January 20 in Saudi
Arabia
* 2006: January 10 or January 11; also, December 31
* 2007: December 20
* 2008: December 8
* 2009: November 28
* 2010: November 17
* 2011: November 7
The Saudi authorities had originally
confirmed that Eid ul-Adha in 2005 would begin on Friday, January 21, but subsequently
moved up the date by one day to January 20, possibly for better crowd control
by avoiding Hajj during the weekend. The official reason was that the new moon
was sighted earlier than expected, starting the month of Dhul Hijja one day
early.
