Kurdistan Region celebrates second Eid al-Adha amid COVID-19 pandemic

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – For the second time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Muslims in the Kurdistan Region are celebrating the feast of al-Adha.

The Islamic celebration began Tuesday when thousands of believers across the Kurdish region of Iraq gathered for early morning prayers in mosques across the country. Eid al-Adha marks the religious story of the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God.

The holiday also celebrates the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam’s holiest religious site. But this year no Kurdish pilgrims performed the religious duty as the authorities in Saudi Arabia had put a ban on international pilgrims, instead allowing only 60,000 vaccinated locals to undertake the ritual amid coronavirus concerns.

Despite recent surges in COVID-19 infections fueled by the virus’s Delta variant, the Kurdish people enthusiastically began to celebrate the special day.

Here is how a normal Eid day – Cejin in Kurdish – is celebrated in the region:

Cejin Breakfast

One should not expect regular breakfast fare at the home of a celebrator of the Islamic feast. The first morning of Eid begins with a heavy meal locally called Nani Cejin – Feast Breakfast – usually including rice, chicken or beef, dried apricots and bean soups, accompanied by vegetables and salad.

The rich meal is served following the feast prayer in the early morning.

Later on, families congratulate each other and ask for forgiveness for any unpleasant experience they had with each other in the past year.

Eid Hospitality

After the first meal and celebrations among family members, guests begin to flock to each other’s houses, where they share sweets and sugary drinks.

Children, wearing new clothing specifically bought for them if their parents can afford it, rush towards each other in the neighborhoods to enjoy the holiday together. Many adults in the Kurdistan Region would say the joy of the feast is mostly for young people.

Households who have recently lost a member or have someone at home with an illness get the bulk of the visitors in the hopes it will ease their emotional pain.

Some people visit other towns and cities in the region to share the joy of Eid with relatives and loved ones they may not often see, particularly in the countryside and towns. Roads get busy by midday.

Sacrificing Animals

The Islamic Eid al-Adha is historically also celebrated by the ritual sacrifice of animals, whose meat is distributed among the poor. 

The mass slaughter begins on the second day of the feast and continues through the week until Friday.

Erbil’s governor this year has decreed that the slaughter can only take place in licensed premises with proper veterinary inspections; in many places it is typically done in private homes or even on the street.