Kurban bayram

(Essay)

Hello, my unknown friend!

It is writing you one 17 years old girl from Bulgaria, who is ready to share with you her culture. I live in a Christian country but I’m a Muslim. That’s why I decided to tell you about one of the greatest Islamic holidays – Kurban bayram. It is a part from the Islamic religion and is the first of importance holiday for the Muslims all over the world.

This year Muslims celebrated it from 20 to 23 December.

One of its characteristics is that the holiday changes the date every year as some of the Christian holidays like Easter.

The first three days before the bayram people serve mekitsi (this is a kind of food) for health to each other.

The holiday lasts four days.

In the morning of the first day in 8 a.m. all men go into Mosque to pray and the imam reads prayers. After the mass they go home and slay a ram for kurban. The imam is reading prayers while the men are slaying the animal and after that he goes into the home of the householders and reads prayers again. Every year Kurban bayram is refered to someone in the family or the whole family for health. After they slaughter the ram his blood is taken and the one, to whom is the kurban, is marked with the blood on the forehead. The right side of the ram is served to seven families, to relatives or to neighbours for health again. On this holiday children go to kiss people’s hands and they give them money, candy and sweet pastry. The adults take forgiveness from each other kissing hands too.

My friend, I represented you one of the most important holidays of the Muslims in the whole world and I hope you like it and appreciate my openness!

Sincerely, Merlin!