Tobaski 2013 The Feast od Eid Al Adha
Greetings from The Gambia. How are you all in England? We are all fine. The rainy season is just coming to an end here. We have had lots of rain this year and the crops are growing well. Nearly everyone in The Gambia is a Muslim and we are getting ready to celebrate an important Muslim festival – Eid Al Adha.
In The Gambia we call the feast Tobaski and this year it will be on Tuesday October 15 th. In the Muslim calendar, which is based on the phases of the moon, Eid Al Adha is the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijjah And the great news is we get the week off school to celebrate the feast.
The feast of Eid Al Adha celebrates when Allah asked Ibrahim to sacrifice his only son Ishmail to prove his faith to Allah. When Allah saw that Ibrahim was willing to do this he stopped him and said he should sacrifice a goat or sheep instead – and this is what he did.
To celebrate the event everyone dresses up in new clothes and, if they can not afford new clothes, their best clothes. And the head of every household is expected to buy a sheep or goat or whatever they can afford and cook it. The whole family eats together and has a lovely meal. If there are poor people in the area who can not afford to buy meat then people lucky enough to buy a sheep or cow must share the meat with them.
Do you like my new Tobaski clothes and shoes? These days to help people get a sheep or goat the mobile phone companies run competitions to win a ram.
On the afternoon of Tobaski children are allowed to ask their family and friends for some pocket money so they can buy some sweets or ice cream. We call it Salibo.
As part of Eid Al Adha some adults go on a Hajj or pilgrimage to the holy place of Mecca. It is a great honour. I hope to go Mecca one day when I grow up.
Well I hope you enjoyed learning about Tobaski and how we celebrate it in The Gambia. When we are back at school we are going to share with you how to cook our favourite meals. We are also going to have a go at making African masks. Bye for now.