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Children at a sheep bought to be slaughtered ahead of Eid Al Adha in the Sahab area, south of Amman. According to Islamic tradition, two-thirds of the udhiya’s (slaughtered animal) meat goes to the poor (AFP photo by Awad Awad)
AMMAN (JT) - Jordan today joins other Arab and Islamic countries in celebrating the Eid Al Adha feast marking the end of hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Kingdom started a five-day holiday Tuesday, with the closure of government agencies, banks and educational establishments. Bridge crossings to the West Bank and Israel are also closed.
The eid rituals start with special prayers at 7:00am, usually performed in open spaces like football fields or public parks, weather permitting.
Eid prayers in some parts of the Kingdom are likely to be performed inside mosques as the Jordan Meteorological Department announced Tuesday that wet and cold weather will prevail during the holiday as a result of unstable weather conditions.
After the prayer, people, by the virtue of tradition rather than religion, visit cemeteries to pay tribute to the dead, and those who can afford to slaughter sheep do so. According to Islamic teachings, they have to distribute at least two-thirds of the meat to the poor in a gesture of social solidarity.
The Greater Amman Municipality and other municipal councils around the country have designated places for pens to sell sheep, which are confined to locations removed from residential areas.
Over the past several days, Amman and major cities witnessed traffic jams as people were shopping for the eid, buying mainly sweets, coffee and new clothes.
In preparation for the feast, the Public Security Department (PSD) announced earlier in the week that it would intensify security procedures during the holiday season culminating in New Year’s Eve.
PSD Spokesperson Major Mohammad Khatib said the measures will include increasing the number of uniformed and plain-clothed manned patrols and rangers.
On the occasion, His Majesty King Abdullah received cables and exchanged over phone congratulations with several leaders of Arab, Islamic and foreign countries and senior officials and officers. Also yesterday, King Abdullah received cables from Christian communities in the Kingdom congratulating him and the Arab and Christians in the Arab world on the occasion of Eid Al Adha, Christmas and the New Year.
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