Festival of sacrifice

It is that time of the year again, Eid Adha. Unlike Eid Fitr, Eid Adha is celebrated moderately by most Malaysian with the exception of maybe the Kelantanese and Kedahan hence the reason only a days public holiday is gazetted. It is essentially a celebration focused on sacrifice and it is in this spirit, my better half has rightly foregone celebrations in her hometown in Anak Bukit to celebrate Eid Adha in Johor Bahru. That and the fact that I’m out of annual leave hence a four to five hours (one way, mind you!) spine bending, neck twisting drive to the north is out of the question. I’d consider the journey had I own a Volvo though – Not one of those sluggish and sloth like 900 series which would take the distance from Rawang to Tapah to get to 120 km/h by the way, but the tarmac shattering boy racer-ish V50 with the turbo! But t because a car like V50 is on the other extreme side of cheap here in Malaysia I’d probably have to “sacrifice” my two children and probably my wife to own one… which will never happen.

All kidding aside, Eid Adha is a “Festival of Sacrifice" and an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim A.S to sacrifice his son Ismail A.S as an act of obedience to Allah, at which point Allah in all His infinite wisdom intervened and provided Ibrahim A.S  with a ram to sacrifice instead. It is in the remembrance of this event Muslims are required to make sacrifice in a form of a cow, goat or even camel.  The meat is than divided into three parts to be distributed to others. The family retains one third of the share, another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbours, and the other third is given to the poor and needy.  

So, Eid Adha is all about sharing and caring. It’s about sacrificing a part of yourself for the greater good of others. It’s about giving… Hence my promise that I’ll remember it next year and celebrate my Eid Adha in Anak Bukit despite having only a one day public holiday plus not yet owning my V50 and having to break my back in the journey. That would be my ultimate sacrifice.

…Well no, that would not be the ultimate sacrifice actually, the ultimate sacrifice will be having to crawl in heavy traffic on the highway that I’ll be paying for, at which point I would not be driving any faster in a V50 than I would in a Proton Saga BLM; And the only difference being that if I am on a V50 I’ll look miles better than the bloke in the Saga. Miles… miles… and miles better.

So on that bomb shell, It is my hope that we celebrate the festivities accordingly and bid all of you Salam Eid Adha and have the safest of journey!

*Note: This article should not be construed as reluctance on my part to celebrate festivities at my wife’s but rather a reflection of how tiring it is to drive 900++ km in a day.

**Note to the note: The above note is made with my wife in mind – in case she decides to read this article.