Preparation for Eid al-Adha

       Eid al Adha is almost upon us! Though it changes dates and times every year, this year the celebration starts Tuesday, October 15th. It is a three day long Islamic holiday celebrating the story of Isma'il and Ibrahim, and Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his greatest possession, his son, to God.
      So we celebrate Ibrahim's obedience to God. It coincides with the pilgrimage to Hajj. Most families sacrifice a goat, cow, or ox in honor of the Ibrahim's sacrifice. On the first day of Eid all the men, plus the women who choose, go to Sa'laat al Eid (Eid prayer). Then the da'biha (sacrifice) is given, my host family will be sacrificing a goat. On the first day everyone dresses in their best clothes, there is a lot of food and family time. Eidya, which is a small amount of money, is given to all the children, including those who are in college or don't work in my family.
     While Eid has yet to begin, a lot of preparation is going on. Purchasing of food stuffs began the week before as well as cooking and cleaning. Here is what I have been doing in the days before Eid.

Friday:
       My host mother, two host sisters, and I hit the stores for Eid dresses. We went to al Seeb, where, after no luck in the first store, we went to al Seeb Mall. We went into shop after shop, looking through brightly colored dresses embrodered with beads, gemstones, or flowers. Some dresses were traditional Omani, some Indian or Pakistani, still others looked like prom dresses found in the US.
        The stars aligned, I ended up with a traditional green and gold dress for the first day of Eid, a green shayla, and green and gold shoes.  I also got a white, blue, and brown cotton dress for the remaining days with a brown shayla. Four hours after we started, we headed home, where we accessorized and finalized our outfits.

To the left are dresses similar to what some girls wear to prom, to the
 right are more traditional dresses, like the one I will be wearing.

Saturday:
      A baking day. My host mother woke us up for a quick breakfast and a day in the kitchen. First, I made chocolate cookies with my little host sister, while my older sister made a coconut and semolina cake. Then everyone (two sisters, two brothers, and my host mother) except my host dad worked to construct desserts made from spiced mashed dates, Marielle tea biscuit cookies, and coconut.
    We kept some desserts for the Eid holiday to share with family, and my host mother put together plates of sweets to give out to family friends.

Desserts made of tea biscuits, mashed spiced dates, and coconut.

Sunday:
    In the hot midday sun we set out in search of henna. The first salon we went to was full, and we then went to four or five more trying to find good henna. My host mother was insistent that we get Sudani henna, not Hindi. We took a break at a supermarket halfway through, where I found earrings or questionable quality that matched my Eid dress.
      The salon we ended up at was very close to our house. We waited over an hour munching on sweet chili pepper flavored Doritos chips, but my little host sister and I finally got our henna.

My henna before it dried. 

     When we returned home, I found our sacrifice waiting in the backyard, bleating to the annoyance of my sister.

My family's sacrifice. He's very cute, but I'm trying not to get attached!

Monday
          The final day before Eid! My host parents are fasting, which is optional before this Eid, unlike Ramadan. Almost everything is ready, we've cleaned the house everyday since Friday, and it is sparkling. Our Eid clothes are ironed (I tried to iron mine but my host mom was scared I'd burn it, so I only ironed my shayla), our nails are cut and filed, everyone is showered and fresh.
          My host mother spent most of the day sewing her beautiful Eid dress, I wish I had her and my own mother's talent for sewing! We watched The Message, a film about the birth of Islam, before we all went to bed.