HaPpy NeW yEaR &&&& EiD mObaRaK

Muslims celebrate number of special festivals and Eid - Ul- Adha is among one of those special festivals of Muslims. There are different kind of Eids that are celebrated by Muslims and Eid - Ul- Adha is one of them. All the Muslims participate in the celebrations of Eid - Ul- Adha to rejoice the festival in the best way. After the end of Ramadan, ninth month of Islamic calendar, Eid - Ul- Adha accurs approximately after seventy days. This festival of Eid - Ul- Adha is known by several names all over the country but Muslims celebrate and perform all the Eid - Ul- Adha traditions and rituals in the most efficient way irrespective of where they are. The festival of Eid - Ul- Adha is celebrated to recall the readiness of prophet Ibrahim's to surrender Ishmael, his son for god and so it known as the “festival of sacrifice”. Muslims butcher domestic animals, mainly the sheep and goats on this festival and this sacrifice made by Muslims is known as “Qurban”. The meat of sacrificed animal is distributed among the neighbors, near and dear ones and all the deprived people. Muslims recite Eid - Ul- Adha prayers on this festival and remember God. Muslims wear new clothes on this day and delicious Eid - Ul- Adha recipes are followed to cook delicious food. Eid - Ul- Adha is a joyous festival for Muslims to spread happiness among people. It is a day to sacrifice and help needy people.

History of Eid Ul Adha

Eid is a festival of Muslims that is celebrated all over the world. Eid-ul-Adha is also known as the festival of sacrifice and sacrifice feast. Eid- ul- Adha is celebrated on the tenth day of Dhuj Hijja, the Islamic month according to the lunar Islamic calendar. Eid- ul- Adha accurs approximately seventy days after the end of Ramadan month. The festival of Eid- ul- Adha is celebrated in the remembrance of prophet Abraham’s readiness to forfeit Ishmael, his son for god. The story about this festival tells, how Abraham was ready to kill his son and remained true to God. The story tells, how Allah told Abraham, to lift up the foundation of Kaaba that was a holy place in Mecca. God also asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, in a dream. Abraham along with his son started moving towards Mina for the sacrifice. Some of the daemons tried to direct Abraham away from his way but Abraham was true to god and as he was just set to kill his son, God stopped him and gave him a sheep to sacrifice instead of sacrificing his son. This festival is thereby said to be a festival of sacrifice. Some people celebrate Eid- ul- Adha because it ends the pilgrimage or Hajj for those Muslims who make a trip to Mecca each year.

Happy Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving to all of us, you, me and them. What is Thanksgiving? For me, Thanks mean giving thanks to other who have done good deed for you and Giving means give something in return. It can be just the word "Thanks" or gives a gift and appreciate each other.

Let's get into the story of Thanksgiving!!!

The Pilgrims sailed the Mayflower to come this country. They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.

Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.

Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.

This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. But in 1623, during a severe drought, the pilgrims gathered in a prayer service, praying for rain. When a long, steady rain followed the very next day, Governor Bradford proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, again inviting their Indian friends. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed.

On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include the Indians, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives". October of 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.

George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson scoffed at the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.

It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.