The Ummah Mosque held Eid al-Adha prayers outdoors for the first time since the pandemic.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, HAILFAX — Mohamed Elsaraiti, a vendor at a halal butcher shop in Hailfax City, Nova Scotia, Canada, said he usually serves nearly 150 customers each day. However, the timing of Eid al-Adha which was celebrated on Friday (07/08/2022) made his store and other halal meat shops busier at this time.

“Yesterday my landlord and I were up since 5 a.m. going to get ready for the day. And we ran last night until 1 a.m.,” Elsaraiti said. Radio-Canada NewsSunday (10/7/2022).

Many busy customers line up at Al Hilal Meat Shop and other Middle Eastern kitchens. Many of them took several grocery bags full of cutlets to prepare Hari Raya as a family

Eid al-Adha is one of the two main Muslim holidays, celebrating the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. And about the story of Prophet Ibrahim who dreamed that Allah ordered him to sacrifice his son.

The holiday is celebrated with large social gatherings, communal prayers, and by sacrificing animals and sharing meat with family, friends, and community members. Abdullah Yousri, imam of the Ummah Mosque in Halifax, said almsgiving is also an important part of Eid al-Adha.

“We share the food and we share the meat [dan hadiah] with family, friends… and also for the less fortunate, we will do a lot of charity during these days,” he said.

Yousri says families often choose their own charity to donate to, and that can be local or global.