Cabinet Secretary for Internal Security Fred Matiang’i has issued a gazette notice declaring Tuesday, August 21 a public holiday to mark Muslim’s Idd-ul-Azha.
Idd ul Azha, also called “Eid al Adha” (meaning “Feast of the Sacrifice”), is celebrated in Kenya every year by the 10 percent of Kenya’s people who follow Islam.
“It is notified for the general information of the public that, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Public Holidays Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Co-ordination of National Government declares that Tuesday, the 21st August, 2018 be a public holiday to mark Idd-ul-Azha, 2018,” the notice reads.
Idd-ul-Adha is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year (the other being Eid al-Fitr), and considered the holier of the two. It honors the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God’s command.
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Before Abraham sacrificed his son, God provided a male goat to sacrifice instead. In commemoration of this, an animal is sacrificed and divided into three parts: one third of the share is given to the poor and needy; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors; and the remaining third is retained by the family.
In the Islamic lunar calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah. In the international (Gregorian) calendar, the dates vary from year to year drifting approximately 11 days earlier each year.
The word “Eid” appears once in Al-Ma’ida, the fifth sura of the Quran, with the meaning “solemn festival”
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