Matiang'i declares Friday a public holiday to celebrate Id ul Azha

Id ul Azha is the single-most important feast of the Islamic year.

In Summary

•Id ul Azha is the single-most important feast of the Islamic year, falling on the 10th day of the final month of the Islamic calendar (Dhu al Hijjah).

•The date moves on the Gregorian calendar by around 10 days per year.

Interior CS Fred Matiangi
Interior CS Fred Matiangi

Interior CS Fred Matiangi has declared Friday, July 31 a public holiday to celebrate Idd-ul-Azha.

"It is notified for the general information of the public that in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2 (2), as read with section 3 of the Public Holidays Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Co-ordination of National Government declares that Friday, the 31st July, 2020, shall be a public holiday," he said on Wednesday.

Matiang'i said the celebrations must adhere to the Covid-19 rules.

 

"All ceremonies in celebration of Idd will be marked with minimal person to person contact and in strict and full compliance with the guidelines..." he said.

"We wish to take this opportunity to wish our muslim bothers and sisters around the world and all those of other beliefs who will join them in celebrating Idd."

Id ul Azha is the single-most important feast of the Islamic year.

It falls on the 10th day of the final month of the Islamic calendar  also known as Dhu al Hijjah.

The date moves on the Gregorian calendar by around 10 days per year.

The background of Id ul Azha is the Islamic account of Ibrahim willingly offering up his son Ishmael as a sacrifice before an angel intervened and stopped the hand in which he held the knife. 

Muslims normally go on pilgrimage to Mecca to re-enact the sacrifice and take part in ceremonies held in the very places where the events are thought to have transpired. 

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