All About Eid ~ The Muslim Feast of Sacrifice


When Is Eid al-Adha 2014? Learn When The Feast Of Sacrifice Takes Place Around The World 

By Susmita Baral | Oct 01 2014, 05:00PM EDT
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When is Eid al-Adha? Shutterstock/diplomedia 

Eid al-Adha (also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice) is the second Islamic holiday of the year and the second Eid holiday in the Gregorian calendar. This year, Eid al-Adha falls in the first week of October. Eid al-Adha 2014 begins on Saturday, Oct. 4 and ends on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 5. The holiday commemorates Abraham's sacrifice of his son, Ishmael, in obedience with God's command.

According to the BBC, Eid al-Adha is a public holiday in Muslim countries and is known as the Greater Eid. Muslims who can afford it are expected to sacrifice a goat or sheep in remembrance of Abraham's devotion and obedience to Allah. Then, the meat is shared with family, friends and the poor.

Additionally, Muslims will start their Eid day with a prayer at the mosque, dressed in new clothes, and will offer presents to their friends and family. The celebration also mandates a donation to charity so that the poor can be helped.

While a vast majority of Latinos are Catholic -- with a new study finding that many are opting for atheism -- there is still a significant portion of the Latino population that practices Islam. Current estimates suggest that one-fourth of the world's population is Muslim (roughly 2.6 billion) and new reports have found that many Hispanics are converting to the faith. Consider this: the BBC reports that the U.S. Census finds that Latino Muslims number between 100,000 and 200,000. What's more, CNN reports that a 2011 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that 2.75 million Muslims live in the United States and in 2008, four percent of America's Muslims identified themselves as Latinos.