Mabrouk El Eid!

L’eid Kbear concluded on Sunday, but the family gatherings and sheep eating continue. On Sunday morning, there was prayer from 8-9 AM, then the slaughtering of the rams. The families in the area always follow the Imam, who is first to perform the ritual sacrifice. After the animals neck is slit, he is hung and stripped of his hair, organs, head, and hooves. Then, the carcass hangs for a day to allow the blood to collect.

It was a new experience for me; seeing surrounding families slaughtering animals simultaneously. We rarely are as intimate with the killing of our meals in the west; its closed off in large, windowless processing plants and has just become another manufacturing process.

We ate throughout the day on Sunday; meals of liver and heart wrapped in fat, along with the hooves, intestines, testicles, and head. Everything tasted fine, but its probably better to do the blind taste test with somethings. In addition to eating, most spent the day gathering with family and dressing up and visiting friends and neighbors.

Got to go..will post more about the holiday next week. Happy New Years!