In the month of Dhul Hijjah the last month in the Islamic calendar about 6000 Palestinians are performing Hajj (sacred pilgrimage) this year including around 3000 people from the Gaza Strip according to the ministry of Awqaf.
On the tenth day of that month Eid al-Adha tradition is celebrated by Muslims all over the world as a reward for their various acts of worship during the first nine days of Dhul Hijjah.
Eid al-Adha is a four-day period of community and celebration marked by prayer feasting and gift-giving. The sacrifice of Eid al-Adha is considered the most important festivity on this occasion.
Despite the rising rate of unemployment that Gaza has been witnessing such festivals of al-Adha remain an exception. Markets open and import increases because families try by all means to rejoice and please their children.
Most of the families in Gaza divide the cost of their livestock sacrifice for Eid al-Adha into three or four payments while others pay for it with a group which is more affordable.
The atmosphere of al-Adha celebration is created on the day preceding the Eid when citizens flock to the cattle farms to transport the sacrifices to their homes via private cars and trucks. This is a chance for children to gather take photos and chant Takbeerat altogether.
The Grand Eid is commonly seen by Gazans as an opportunity to check on the poor and the needy families especially those who cannot afford buying livestock. Families who are capable of paying for sacrifice in Eid eat about a third of the meat a third goes to friends and relatives and the remaining third is donated to the poor in a show of solidarity and connection.
Meanwhile charitable societies buy livestock in large numbers in order to distribute the meat from the sacrifice of Eid-al-Adha to families in different areas aiming at reducing their sufferings in the Israeli-besieged enclave.
“A merchant among my acquaintances told me that the majority of the livestock he sold this year was bought by charities” Abu Aziz al-Shawwa who works in a butcher shop in Gaza told the PIC shortly before Eid al-Adha.
Al-Shawwa underlined that although the financial crisis in Gaza has worsened merchants and farmers are grateful for the season of the Eid al-Adha that makes their business flourish a little bit.
Although feasting is the most prominent way to applaud Adha decorations of the Eid are still an essential feature of celebrating this blessed occasion. People in Gaza prefer to decorate their homes with different objects that reflect the idea of sacrifice.
The PIC talked to Balsam Fouda who sells her handmade crochet crafts online. She said that her clients grow in number during the season of Eid al-Adha.
“I have created my Instagram profile only last year and since then my business has been growing” 26-year-old Balsam said asserting that the Eid season enhances her business as new clients are attracted to her products on such occasions.
