Muslims have only two official religious feasts, Eid Al-Fitr, which comes after the  fasting month of Ramadan, and Eid-Al-Adha, which comes on 10 of Dhu al-Hijjah in the Hijri lunar calendar. This year, Eid Al-Adha occured on October 25. The Eid holiday usually lasts 5 days, starting from 9 Dhu Al-Hijjah to 13 Dhu Al-Hijjah.

The Hirji Lunar calendar is also called the Islamic calendar.  It consists of 12 months and 355 or 354 days and is used by Muslim people to determine the Islamic occasions as feasts, pilgrimage and fasting.

Eid Al-Adha means ‘Feast of the Sacrifice” because every family or household should sacrifice one lamb, goat, sheep or one seventh cow or camel. The cow or camel could be sacrificed by 7 families, according to the Islamic teachings.

The sacrificed animal is called Udhiyyah. The meat of the Udhiyyah should be divided into 3 parts. One third is for the family members while the other parts should be given to the relatives and neighbors; also, it would be better to be given to the most needy among them. Sacrificing must be done after the Eid prayer. It’s preferred to have the Eid day breakfast from Udhiyyah; usually, it is the liver and heart.

The Eid prayer can be done at any time after sun rise but before the noon time. All the prayer attendants should dress up in new clothes or the best clothes they have.

Traditionally, in some Islamic countries such as Palestine, Syria and Turkey, they visit the cemeteries during the Eid days. Also, in most of the countries, usually the parents and the elder relatives and neighbors give their children some extra money. This money is called Eidya.

According to the Islamic resources, on 10 Dhu al-Hijjah about four thousand years ago Allah (The God) instructed the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to give his son Ismael (Ishmael) as a sacrifice to test his faith. After that the prophet Ibrahim decided to follow the command and asked his son about it. The answer from Ismael was to agree for the command without any reservation or objection at all. After starting slaughtering Ismael, the Prophet Ibrahim found a ram replacing his son. So this day became celebrated annually by Muslims to sacrifice during the Eid Al-Adha.

Other Islamic events during Eid days would occur in Mecca, which is Hajj. The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is a must to all Muslims if they can do it.

On 9 Dhu Al-Hijjah the pilgrims go to Arfa mount, which is the main pillar of the Hajj. This day is called Day of Arafa. Arafa mount is located 22 km from the Grand mosque in Mecca. It’s recommended for non-pilgrim Muslims to fast this day, while the pilgrims are not allowed to fast.

On the 10 Dhu Al-Hijjah, the pilgrims must stone a wall, referred to as the devil, with seven pebbles as a part of Hajj performance in a place called ‘large Jamara’. Also, they have to sacrifice. In the previous years, they used to sacrifice a goats, sheeps , camels or cow by themselves, while right now they pay the cost of the sacrifice to the Saudi government, who will complete the sacrifice on their behalf for hygienic reasons. In the previous years, the streets used to be ful of blood and dirt after millions of pilgrims sacrificed their animal.

After that, the pilgrims go to cut their hair and to wear regular dresses rather than Ihram cloths. The Ihram clothes consist of 2 un-hemmed sheets. In the following 3 days the pilgrims must stone the devil in 3 different places called Jamarat, each one with 7 pebbles.

The greeting for your Muslims friends and colleagues should be Eid Mubarak or Happy Eid. Mubarak means blessed. And the greeting for pilgrims should be Hajj Mabrour. Mabrous means accepted.

Image Courtesy of  azaphoto / Shutterstock.com

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The Way of St James (Camino de Santiago de Compostela) is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, located in Galicia, northweste of Spain. The pilgrimage path can be covered by walking or cycling and some routes start from Europe.

For more than 1,000 years pilgrims have traveled along the many ways to Santiago. In 1985 only 2,491 pilgrims completed the Way. Since then, the route has been increasing its attractions to pilgrims from around the globe and not pilgrims. Ten years later, 19,821 people covered the Way.

The Camino de Santiago is for everyone, young, old, fit, unfit, religious or otherwise. The route was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in October 1987. UNESCO has listed it as a World Heritage Site. In 2005 there were 93,921 visitors according to the city of Compostela.

In your way to Santiago from wherever place you start in Europe or Spain; the scallop shell will guide you to arrive in Santiago. Historically, the shell had also metaphorical and practical meanings for the pilgrims. As the waves of the ocean wash scallop shells up on the shores of Galicia, God´s hand also guides the pilgrims to Santiago. The pilgrims used to use the shells as an instrument to gather water from wells and rivers.

There are five main Camino pilgrimage paths in Spain: the Silver route (starting in Seville, southwest Spain 621 miles), the Northern route (starting in Irun, north of Spain 512 miles), the Portuguese route (starting in Porto, Portugal 143 miles), and the English road (starting in Coruna or Ferrol, Northern Spain 68 miles). There are more paths in Spain but these ones are the most popular.

However, the French Way is the most popular route to start for people who do their first Camino. This Camino starts in St. Jean Pied de Port, near the Pyrenees and has 484 miles distance to Santiago. You will need a document called the credencial (pilgrim’s passport) which provides cheap (between $3,7 and $8,8 per night) and sometimes free accommodation in official or municipal pilgrim hostels along the route. There are also private hostels, but they are little bit more expensive, around $12,5.

The credencial can be purchased in any Spanish tourist agency or in a confraternity in your country. The credencial provides record of where pilgrims have eaten or slept, but also is a proof to the Pilgrim´s Office in Santiago to show that the journey has been accomplished according to an official route.

The infrastructure along the French Way is very good and it is very difficult to get lost. You will spend between 7 and 10 days to complete the French Way to Santiago; it depends on how many days you stay in the Spanish cities that you will find in your route. The route passes along a few major Spanish cities such as Pamplona, Burgos and Leon.

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