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[Turker]

Hi everyone, I`d like all the people to have a beautiful bairam whether you`re muslim or christians. we are all human aren`t we?

[brother]

Herkesin Kurban bayramin kutlu olsun............Happy bayram to all

[city]

I'm sorry, but what is bairam?
Please educate me!

[insan]

Herkeşe eyi bayramlaaaar

City:


"Kurban Bayrami (the Festival of Sacrifice) This four-day festival begins on the tenth day of the last month of the Muslim year and marks the completion of Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).

On the morning of the first day of this festival, Muslims may sacrifice an animal. Usually this is a sheep or a goat, though other larger animals are sometimes used, especially if families join together to make the sacrifice. It is the festival at which Muslims remember that Prophet Abraham was ready to make a sacrifice of his son, Ishmael.He did not have to do this because, just in time an angel came to him and told him to stop, because he had already demonstrated his willingness to give up everything he loved for God’s sake. He sacrificed a ram instead.

Sacrificing the animal is a symbol. This is a sign that Muslims are ready to give up everything for the sake of God just as Abraham was willing to do that.

The meat from the sacrificed animal is divided into three parts such that the first part goes to the poor persons, the second part to friends and relatives and the third part for the use of one’s family.

Both religious events are celebrated through prayers and sermons encouraging peace and general goodwill among all, visits to parents, grandparents and relatives for feast greeting, also visits to family cemeteries.

The dates of these religious festivals change according to the Muslim lunar calendar and thus occur 10 days earlier each year.

The dates for 2003 are as follows:

February 11-14 The Festival of Sacrifice (Kurban Bayrami)

November 25-27 The Festival of Fast- Breaking (Ramazan Bayrami)

"

[insan]

Religious Holidays
Seker Bayrami: Three-day festival when sweets are eaten to celebrate the end of the fast of Ramadan.

Kurban Bayrami: Four-day festival when sacrificial sheep are slaughtered and their meat distributed to the poor.

The dates of these religious festivals change according to the Muslim lunar calendar an thus occur 10-11 days (exact difference between Gregorian and Lunar calendars is 10 days and 21 hrs) earlier each year. According to this;

Seker Bayrami will be celebrated on 3-4-5 November 2005, and 23-24-25 October 2006, and 12-13-14 October 2007, and 30 September-1-2 October 2008.

And Kurban Bayrami will be celebrated on 20-21-22-23 January 2005, and 10-11-12-13 January 2006, and 31 December 2006-1-2-3 January 2007, and 20-21-22-23 December 2007, and 8-9-10-11 December 2008.

As you can notice, there are two Kurban Bayrami dates in 2007, it's not a mistake but it happens every 32 years. Same with Seker Bayrami but it happened in 2000 and won't happen again until 2032.



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Muslim festivals & Celebrations
The Festivals of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha.
There are two great festivals in Islam, 'Idul-Fitr, which falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic year, and 'Idul-Adha, which falls on the tenth day of Thul-Hijjah and coincides with the Yauman-Nahr, "Day of the Sacrifices" in the Hajj Pilgrimage.

The first festival, Eid-ul-Fitr, Seker Bayrami in Turkish (the "Festival of the Breaking of the Fast"), occurs as soon as the new moon is sighted at the end of the month of fasting, namely Ramadan.

On this festival the people, having previously distributed the alms which are called the Sadaqatu'l-Fitr, assemble in the vast assembly outside the city in the Igdah, and, being led by the imam, recite two rak'ahs of prayer. After prayers the imam ascends the mimbar, or pulpit, and delivers the khutbah, or oration.

The igdah is a large place especially set aside for the large congregations who will attend the special Eid prayer early in the morning and can be an open field or flat piece of ground. It is only used as such on festival days for congregational prayers, the proper place always being the mosque on other occasions.

On the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month, comes the Ramazan ki'Id, or Ramadan celebration, when every one who fasts before going to the place of prayer (igdah) should make the customary fast offering (roza ki fitrat), which consists in distributing among a few Faqirs (poor) some 5 lb. (2.5kg) of wheat or other grain, dates and fruit. For until a man has distributed these gifts or the equivalent in money, the Almighty will keep his fasting suspended between Heaven and Earth.

The Eid prayer is not only said at an unusual place but is also conducted without the usual azaan (ezan), the call to prayer. This practice of omitting the azaan was allegedly practiced by Muhammad himself and is founded on this hadith (hadis):

Jabir bin Abdullah said, "The Prophet went out on the Day of 'Id-ul-Fitr and offered the prayer before delivering the Khutba". Ata told me that during the early days of Ibn-Az-Zubair, Ibn Abbas had sent a message to him telling him that the Adhan for the 'Id Prayer was never pronounced (in the lifetime of Allah's Apostle) and the Khutba used to be delivered after the prayer.

The festival is intended to be a festive and joyous occasion. Special foods and delicacies are prepared for the day and are distributed to neighbors and friends. Despite its importance it is considered inferior to the Eid-ul-Adha (Kurban Bayrami) and is known as the "little feast".

Eid-ul-Adha, Kurban Bayrami in Turkish (the "Feast of Sacrifice") is the great festival of Islam. It is also known as Baqri-Eid (the "Cow Festival") because its most important feature is the sacrifice of an animal (cow, goat, sheep, or other appropriate beast) in commemoration of the ram sacrificed by Abraham in place of his son. In Muhammad's time a camel was usually the animal sacrificed. The command to perform sacrifices is given in Surah 22.36 and although no specific day is fixed in the Qur'an the sacrificing of animals was already practiced on the last day of the pilgrimage by the pre-Islamic Arabs and the institution was duly retained. A special prayer, similar to the Eid-ul-Fitr prayer, is also offered on this day before the animals are sacrificed.

Narrated Al-Bara: I heard the Prophet delivering a Khutba (hutbe) saying, "The first thing to be done on this day (the first day of 'Id-ul-Adha) is to pray; and after returning from the prayer we slaughter our sacrifices (in the name of Allah), and whoever does so, he acted according to our Sunna (traditions) " (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 2, p. 37).

Every Muslim home is obliged to offer a sacrifice on this day. The meat may be eaten by the family but a distribution of a generous share to the poor should also be made. As the two Eids (bayrams) are festive occasions, it is unlawful to fast on these days. Fasting on Eid-ul-Adha (Kurban Bayrami) would, in fact, defeat the whole object of the festival for food is to be eaten on this day with a cheerful heart in remembrance of God's bounty and provision for mankind. Umar once said:

The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) prohibited fasting on these two days. As regards Id al-Adha, you eat the meat of your sacrificial animals. As for Id al-Fitr, you break (i.e. end) your fast. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 2, p. 663).

The name commonly given to the Eid sacrifice, qurbani (kurban), seems to have similar origins to the Jewish "Corban", meaning something set apart for God (Mark 7.11), and is probably derived from the Jewish word. Both Eids (bayrams) can last for two or three days but the prescribed rituals and prayers must be performed on the first day of each festival.

[city]

Thank you very much Insan!!