Eid-Mubarak

Eid Al-Adha is an Islamic holiday in honor of Abraham's obedience to God when he was willing to sacrifice his own son.  God intervened and provided a sheep to be sacrificed instead.  The day prior to Eid Al-Adha we discovered six sheep living in our garage.  The boys were mesmerized, and Abraham repeatedly said "Baaahh" for weeks afterwards.  Our upstairs neighbor Khalid invited Jamil to partake in the sacrifice of his sheep.  They sacrificed the sheep on the roof with the help of two butchers who had been hired by some of the neighbors as well as Ahmed, our concierge.  Khalid kindly offered us the leg that Jamil had removed.  It was a really interesting experience to peak out from our fourth floor apartment windows to see families sacrificing sheep all over the neighborhood.  Men with wagons marched up and down the streets collecting the skins and leftover parts.  On all the corners there were makeshift charcoal grills where young men cooked sheep heads.  The atmosphere was electric, similar to what we experience during Thanksgiving or Christmas in the US.

Jamil sent out a curtsey "Eid-Mubarak" (blessed festival) text message to all of our Moroccan friends, and within minutes his phone started ringing with greetings and invitations.  Our friend Rihal showed up at our apartment and drove us to his place in the "popular" quarter of Kebibat where we enjoyed a feast with his extended family.  It was a great cultural experience, and the cumin-seasoned boulfaf (grilled liver wrapped in caul fat) was tasty.  Rihal explained to us that many Moroccans, including his family, eat this delicacy once a year.

Interestingly, Rihal said he was surprised to see the broiling sheep heads on the corners in Agdal (our neighborhood) and to hear that folks had been slaughtering sheep all morning.  He thought this only occurred in "popular" quarters.  To his credit, our European-minded Moroccan friends informed us that they had not slaughtered a sheep in 20+ years.  However, they do get together for a large family dinner.  Like in the US, families celebrate holidays in different manners.  Ironically, the lower classes save money, sell off items, and take on loans to purchase a sheep (about 2050 MAD) for the family to sacrifice while many of the European-minded upper class consider such practices dated and choose to make financial donations.  It is perhaps more ironic that some people take on interest-laden loans (against Islam) in order to perform such religious obligations.  This irony seems quite similar to commercialism surrounding the Christmas holidays.  Nonetheless, we happily gave substantial bonuses to the individuals who help our family.  These celebrations may seem quite foreign, but the joy in the people around us was very familiar.  We are so thankful that we stayed in town to experience the Eid holiday!