September 1 declared public holiday

The Ministry for the Interior has indicated that Friday, 1st September 2017, which marks the Eid al-Adha festival, is a statutory public holiday which should be observed as such throughout the country.

This was contained in a statement by the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery, on Thursday, August 24.

Also called the “Sacrifice Feast”, Eid al-Adha is the second of two Muslim holidays celebrated worldwide each year.

It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son, as an act of submission to God's command. Before he could sacrificed his son, God intervened by sending his angel Jibra'il (Gabriel), who then put a sheep in his son's place. In commemoration of this, an animal is sacrificed and divided into three parts: the family retains one third of the share; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors; and the remaining third is given to the poor and needy.

In the Islamic lunar calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah. In the international or Gregorian calendar, the dates vary from year to year, drifting approximately, 11 days earlier each year.