STEEMIT ENGAGEMENT CHALLENGE S1/W2 - FAVORITE FESTIVAL: EID-AL-ADHA

Good day esteemed members of this gorgeous community and to steemians in general. I am @bolaji001 and I am competing in the on-going STEEMIT ENGAGEMENT CHALLENGE which is currently in its second week. Today, I will be participating in this contest by the @steemit-pak community. I really like that the contests they are putting out is country-based, it allows we steemit users to learn about what is going on in different countries around the world, their culture, customs, values etc.

INTRODUCTION

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My favorite festival is the Eid-al-Adha also known as Eid-al-Kabir festival celebrated by we Muslims not only here in my country, Nigeria also all around the world. As you might have guessed it is not a cultural festival but a religious one. In Nigeria, the Yoruba people also call it Ileya.

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ABOUT EID-AL-ADHA FESTIVAL

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Eid-al-Adha festival, is the latter of the two major festivals which we Muslims celebrate in Islam, the other being Eid-ul-Fitr(which is celebrated immediately after the Holy month of Ramadan). Eid-al-Adha festival honors the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his only son at the time, Ismail as an act of obedience to Allah (SWT)'s command. However, God provided him with a Ram in the last moment which he sacrificed in his son's place. In commemoration of this intervention, animals (preferably Rams) are slaughtered on Eid-al-Adha day. The festival spans two to three days here in Nigeria and most countries around the world, the first day being the main day of the festival and animals are slaughtered on each day. One third of their meat is consumed by the family that kills the animal, while the rest of the meat is distributed around to the poor and the needy. Drinks, sweets and gifts are shared, and extended family members and friends are typically visited and hosted. Eid-al-Adha day is sometimes called Greater or Big Eid relating to the fact that it is a major festival than Eid-al-fitr.

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HOW WE CELEBRATE HERE IN NIGERIA

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Since Nigeria is among the top five countries in the world with the most Muslims population, Eid-al-Adha festival is always a big one. Even the non-muslims join us to celebrate. I will use how we celebrate Eid-al-Adha in my family as a case study.
As you might have read earlier, Eid-al-Adha festival spans 2-3 days here in Nigeria, the first day being the main.

The first day

This day is the main day of the festival, we fast (abstain from eating) to mosque where we observe our Eid prayer and we only break out fast after the prayer. Eid prayer is prayed in the morning around 11 am depending on your location. Immediately after the Eid prayer, the ram is slaughtered after each individual can then proceed to slaughter the animals, they have purchased for the festival. It must not take too long too before one slaughter the animal he/she is willing to sacrifice. After leaving the mosque, we gather at the family house and the celebration begins.
The females (Mummies, Aunties) handle the cooking of variety of dishes, the common and constant ones are Puff-puff, Jollof rice and Amala. We guys handle the slaughtering of the Rams, make it ready to be cooked then pass it to the females to do the rest. The kids set up the chairs and table. Puff puff is first shared round as appetizer just to keep our mouths busy while the main dishes get ready.
It is usually a very fun occasion, I get to see my cousins, uncles, aunties I have not seen all year, chat with that, do some catching up etc.

On the Second day

This day is basically an extension of the first day. We celebrate on this day in our house not the whole family house. We kill one or two rams, people come around share food to everybody around and to the poor and needy. It is not usually as engaging as the first day also has lesser crowd.

On the third day

On this day some people have accepted that the festival is over and travel back to their base while in some towns/states, they believe there is still one last dance.
One of these towns is Ijebu-ode town in Ogun state. On the third day of Eid-al-Adha, the Yoruba people of Ijebu-Ode town celebrates Ojude Oba.

Ojude Oba is all about paying homage and showing respect to the Royal Majesty, the Awujale of Ijebuland. It is one of the most spiritual and fascinating festivals celebrated in Ijebuland and Ogun State in general.

CONCLUSION

The Eid-al-Adha festival is one I always look forward to. It is one of the most celebrated festivals in my country and around the world. It was celebrated millennials ago and still celebrated till date, its culture and values has been well and preserved and passed down to generations. It is a festival that brings everyone together, show one another love and have a nice time.

Thanks for so much for reading, I hope you learnt a lot about my favorite festival, Eid-al-Adha.
I would like to use this opportunity to invite my friends @kennydavebobo, @ojerindejoel, @olawole111, @ngoenyi, @focusnow to participate in this really fun contest, sharing with us what their favorite festival.