We’ve told you this
story before (
here,
here, and
here). At the time, we had embraced our Eid Al Adha adventure with the mindset that it was a once-in-a-lifetime cultural
experience. In the end, we were even content knowing that we had “suffered”
through such a foreign/strange experience once and would not have to do it
again.
We had no idea
that when we made plans to travel far away from the Eid last year (to
Ceuta), that
we would leave our landlord genuinely heartbroken. He didn’t understand why we
would choose to leave his family during such a critical holiday and insisted
that we change our plans. We could not… but we realized that we would not be
able to make this same mistake ever again. We are considered his “family” and,
therefore, we have an obligation to celebrate the Eid with them for as long as we are here.
For the longest
time, Nicole had such a bad attitude about this “obligation”. She dreaded the thought of being separated
into two different houses again, being surrounded by people who didn’t speak
English, being forced to eat sheep liver kebobs, etc.. Dave was sympathetic to
these concerns; and he was also not very enthusiastic about eating sheep liver.
But then we realized that
we needed to change our perspective.
& we realized
that Eid Al Adha is not really so strange….it's just a little different.
To help you to
visualize this new perspective, allow us to tell you two stories; starting with
one that is likely more familiar to you.
Story #1:
A few weeks before
the celebration is set to commence, a family scouts for the perfect tree. It
has to be the biggest and most beautiful in order to compete with all of the
other trees framed within the windows of their neighbors’ houses. Finally, they find it. The tree is strapped
hazardously onto the top of their small sedan and they drive home, feeling both
excited and proud to show it off.
The tree is
placed carefully in water, in an effort to maintain its health throughout the
holiday season. It, alongside the rest of the house, is generously decorated.
The family has been saving their pennies for the entire year in anticipation of
this big event and everything has to be perfect. Knowing this, all of the
stores have been overstocked for months in an effort to tempt their customers with
all of the makings of a “perfect” commercialized Christmas: lights, decorations,
wrapping paper, etc.. Likewise, the
streets are lined with decorations, lights, and Santa figurines. The true
meaning of the holiday (The virgin birth of Jesus Christ) is hidden behind the
commercialism somewhere….but it is, unfortunately, hard to see.
On Christmas Eve,
the family double-checks to ensure that the tree is still beautiful, presents
are wrapped, and everything is ready for the next day. They run to the store to pick up a few
last-minute supplies that they forgot, knowing that everything will be closed
Christmas day. The lines are
astronomically long, but they persevere and get everything that they need.
The next morning,
everyone wakes up excited that Christmas is finally here. There is so much that
they have been looking forward to….and this holiday only comes once a
year! The family’s’ relatives have
traveled across the country just to be with them for this special day. “Merry
Christmas” is exchanged with every greeting. Everyone gathers around the tree
to commence the celebration…but inwardly they are having the hardest time
containing their excitement about feasting on their favorite annual treats:
Christmas cookies and homemade pies. They open the presents under the tree, and
then rush to the kitchen in order to prepare the big feast. The entire day is
the perfect balance of family fellowship and good food.
The evening finally concludes with a surprise: a group of carolers arrive on the family's doorstep singing traditional
Christmas songs. One of the singers is dressed to represent the familiar icon
of the holiday: Santa Clause. They are wearing a red suit and a fake white
beard hangs around their chin.
Story #2:
A few weeks before
the celebration is set to commence, a family scouts for the perfect sheep. It
has to be the biggest and most beautiful in order to compete with all of the
other sheep tied to the balconies of their neighbors’ houses. Finally, they find it. The sheep is stuffed
hazardously into the trunk of their small sedan and they drive home, feeling
both excited and proud to show it off.
The sheep is offered
plenty of water and food, in an effort to maintain its health throughout the pre-holiday
season. The family has been saving their pennies for the entire year in
anticipation of this big event and everything has to be perfect. Knowing this,
all of the stores have been overstocked for months in an effort to tempt their
customers with all of the makings of a “perfect” commercialized Eid: refrigerators,
charcoal grills, kabob sticks, and butchering knives. Likewise, the streets are
lined with tagine pots, charcoal, and hay for the sheep. The true meaning of
the holiday (Recognizing God’s provision of a sheep sacrifice instead of
allowing Abraham to sacrifice his own son) is hidden behind the commercialism
somewhere….but it is, unfortunately, hard to see.
On the eve of the
Eid, the family double-checks to ensure that the sheep is still healthy and
that everything is ready for the next day.
They run to the store to pick up a few last-minute supplies that they
forgot, knowing that everything will be closed on the day of the Eid. The lines are astronomically long, but they
persevere and get everything that they need.
The next morning,
everyone wakes up excited that the Eid is finally here. There is so much that
they have been looking forward to….and this holiday only comes once a
year! The family’s’ relatives have
traveled across the country just to be with them for this special day. “Mubarek
L’Eid” is exchanged with every greeting. Everyone gathers around the sheep to
commence the celebration…but inwardly they are having the hardest time
containing their excitement about feasting on their favorite annual treats: heart,
lung, and liver kabobs wrapped in intestinal fat. They slaughter the sheep, ensuring that
everything is halal, and then rush to the kitchen in order to prepare the big
feast. The entire day is the perfect balance of family fellowship and good
food.
The evening finally concludes with a surprise: a group of men arrive on the family's doorstep chanting
traditional Moroccan music in celebration of the holiday. One of the singers is
dressed to represent the familiar icon of the holiday: the sheep. They are
wearing the bloody skin of the sheep that was slaughtered that morning.
Not so strange after all.... it's just a little different.
Happy Holidays
 |
| Said was so proud to have such a beautiful sheep, and to have Dave there to help him slaughter it |
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| 8.25 months pregnant with our family's giant sheep |
-Dave & Nicole
