Preparations for Eid al-Adha

For those who don't know, one of the most important events for Muslims will happen tomorrow: a festival called Eid al-Adha. It's a celebration in which Muslim families slaughter a sheep to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God. Before Abraham went through with this act God gave him a sheep instead to sacrifice, and so Muslims now sacrifice a sheep to signify this obedience to God. Traditionally the family keeps a share of the meat for itself and distributes the rest to extended family and the poor who cannot afford to buy a sheep. Today, however, this tradition isn't followed much in Morocco because almost every family buys a sheep, either by saving up specifically for the event, doing extra work, or taking out loans (there are signs everywhere here advertising loans for sheep.)

I'll be celebrating Eid al-Adha with Abdessamad and his family. I'm so fortunate to be able to spend it with such an awesome, traditional, Moroccan family. I'll post pictures of the event as soon as I can. For now, here's a couple of the sheep staying at Abdessamad's family's house. The family is keeping the sheep on the patio until tomorrow. Most families get their sheep a few days before the ceremony and keep it/them tied up somewhere around the house.

Khalid, Abdessamad's brother-in-law.