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DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 06 Oct) – October 15 is a national holiday in observance of Eid’l Ahda, the Islamic Feast of the Holy Sacrifice.
President Benigno S. Aquino III on October 3 signed Proclamation No. 658 declaring October 15, 2013, a regular holiday throughout the country to celebrate Eid’l Adha.
Eid’l Adha is one of Islam’s two major festivals celebrated by 1.6 billion Muslims around the world. It is celebrated yearly to mark the end of Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca and to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham among Christians) act of sacrificing his eldest son, Ishmael. God spared the boy’s life and instead gave Abraham a lamb to sacrifice.
Republic Act 9849 provides that Eid’l Adha, though falling on movable dates every year, shall be celebrated as a national holiday.
RA 9492 had earlier provided that Eid’l Adha be celebrated as a regional holiday in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan.
The Presidential proclamation said the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos recommended that the observance of Eid’l Adha be on October 15 and the Eid’l Adha prayer be performed on the final declaration of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Worldwide, Eid’l Adha is observed through a gathering of the Islamic community in prayer, and sacrificing a lamb or goat and distributing its meat to family, friends and relatives, particularly the poor. (MindaNews)
