Eid Celebrations in Addis

Eid at Enas’s

This week, Muslims in Ethiopia –and around the world– will be celebrating Eid al-Adha. So I sat with Enas, an Ethiopian friend who has observed this holiday her entire life, to learn more about this Feast of Sacrifice, and about how she and her family celebrate in Addis. Here’s what I learned.

Religious significance of the holiday

Eid al-Adha is one of two Eids celebrated throughout the year and it coincides with a time when many Muslims around the world finish performing the Hajj pilgrimage. The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the five core pillars of Islam. This pillar instructs every Muslim who is physically and financially able to make at least one visit to the holy city of Mecca (modern day Saudi Arabia.) Though this Eid coincides with the time of the year when most Muslims complete their once in a lifetime pilgrimage, the holiday is celebrated by all.

Eid al-Adha, which comes roughly two months after the other Eid of the year –Eid al-Fitr,– is known as the Festival of Sacrifice and commemorates when Allah asked the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son, Ishaq (Isaac). As Ibrahim was preparing to sacrifice Ishaq, Allah sent the angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) to the site of the sacrifice with a ram. Since the Prophet was willing to sacrifice his only son, Allah instructed Jibrīl to switch out Ishaq with a ram. Allah abundantly blessed Abraham for his willingness to sacrifice his most loved one to Allah. Ibrahim’s day of sacrifice marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage.

(Fun fact: this event is cornerstone to all three Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, with the former believing the substitutional ram was symbolic of Jesus’ future sacrificial death). 

Celebrating the Holiday

So how do Muslim families across Addis celebrate Eid? Like most people celebrate religious holidays: with prayer, family time, good cheer, and waistline-expanding amounts of scrumptious food. For Enas’s family, the day starts out with prayer at a mosque or a stadium, breakfast at Abaya’s –Enas’s mother’s house– where children in the family are gifted with new clothes and money that they can save or spend on games, toys, candy, etc.

Enas shared that this is not particular to her family, either. During Eid, it’s typical that families who are financially able often gift the children in the family with new clothes, games, candy, biscuits, etc. Many households also make a sacrifice to Allah on this day. In Enas’s family for instance, her mother typically sacrifices a lamb in commemoration of Abraham’s story. 

Then, after prayer and breakfast at her mother’s, Enas, her husband, and children typically visit other family members on both her and her husband’s side, “while stuffing our faces non-stop at every home we visit.” (Enas, if you’re reading this before Eid, I will wait patiently for my invitation to even just one of these homes.)

COVID-19 has inevitably played a part in dampening holiday gatherings for so many of us in the past few years, and Enas’s family hasn’t been an exception. Post-COVID, her family visits for Eid have become smaller, intimate, and more limited. However, the tradition of visiting her mother’s and her husband’s parents continues on, with the children and cousins spending most of the afternoon playing outdoors – Addis Ababa’s rainy seasonal weather-permitting. ;)

Eid Mubarek to all who are celebrating this weekend!

Whether you are religious or not, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, or agnostic, the idea of sacrifice is a universal part of the human experience: it is a central tenant to attaining the blessings and benefits we so deeply desire in our work, family life, and social settings. The religious background and cultural practice behind this upcoming weekend’s feast of sacrifice is inspiring, and being able to learn and share more about it with you was a gift. Thank you, Enas, for allowing me to share your story.