Monday declared a public holiday to mark Eid Ul Adha

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has declared Monday, August 12, a public holiday to mark the Islamic festival of Eid-Ul-Adha.

The gazette notice read; “It is notified for the general information of the public that in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Public Holidays Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Co-ordination of National Government declares that Monday, the 12th August,2019 be a public holiday to mark Idd-ul-Azha.”

According to Wikipedia, Eid al-Adha also called the “Festival of the Sacrifice”, is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year (the other being Eid al-Fitr), and considered the holier of the two.

It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God’s command. But, before Abraham could sacrifice his son, God provided a lamb to sacrifice instead.

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In commemoration of this intervention, an animal is sacrificed and divided into three parts. One share is given to the poor and needy, another is kept for home, and the third is given to relatives.

In the Islamic lunar calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, and lasts for three days. In the international (Gregorian) calendar, the dates vary from year to year shifting approximately 11 days earlier each year.

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