by Babra Wani
As the crescent moon of Dhul Hijjah signals the approach of Eid ul Azha, the second and holier of the two annual Islamic festivals, Muslims across the globe prepare not just for sacrifice, but also for celebration, reflection, and a unique array of cultural traditions that add local colour to a shared religious experience. While the act of Qurbani (animal sacrifice) remains the religious core, the expressions of festivity vary widely, shaped by geography, history, and tradition.
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
In Saudi Arabia, where Eid ul Azha is simply called Eid al-Kabir (the Big Eid), the festival coincides with the culmination of Hajj in Mecca, imbuing the occasion with profound spiritual resonance. Apart from the sacrificial rites, celebrants engage in Ardah, a traditional dance performed with swords and rhythmic poetry. Dressed in their finest thobe and bisht, families gather to feast on dishes like kabsa and mathbi, while public spaces often feature poetry recitals, camel races, and light shows.
In neighbouring United Arab Emirates, the festival is marked with cannon salutes, fireworks, and a roster of concerts and cultural exhibitions, transforming urban spaces into arenas of festivity.
Turkey: Kurban Bayram
In Turkey, Eid ul Azha is known as Kurban Bayramı, a time for not only sacrifice but reconnection. Turkish families begin the day with special Eid prayers at local mosques before visiting the graves of deceased relatives to pray and tidy the resting places, a practice known as mezarlık ziyareti. The sharing of baklava, dolma, and kavurma (slow-cooked meat) follows, as families gather in multigenerational harmony. The emphasis on community support is strong, Turkish municipalities often organise neighbourhood feasts, and charitable foundations distribute meat to orphans and the poor.
Nigeria: Barka da Sallah
In northern Nigeria, where Eid is locally called Eid el-Kabir and greetings are offered as Barka da Sallah, the festival merges religious devotion with regal spectacle. Perhaps nowhere is this more dramatically evident than in the Durbar festival, a centuries-old parade involving mounted horsemen in ornate robes and turbans, saluting local emirs in front of large crowds. Kano, Katsina, and Sokoto become hubs of cultural magnificence, with drumbeats, praise-singing, and choreographed cavalry moves reinforcing a sense of historical pride. Post-prayer gatherings centre around stews, jollof rice, and fried meats, often served under the open sky.
Indonesia: Idul Adha, Takbiran
Home to the world’s largest Muslim population, Indonesia observes Idul Adha with vibrant communal rituals. On the eve of the festival, cities and villages come alive with Takbiran processions, joyous parades featuring trucks adorned with fairy lights and loudspeakers blaring chants of Allahu Akbar.
In Java and Sumatra, community mosques coordinate the sacrifices, but what stands out is the sense of organised charity: meat is evenly distributed among households, particularly targeting the poorest. Meals of rendang, sate kambing, and opor ayam round out the festivities. Public parks often host Eid fairs with traditional games and musical performances.
Bangladesh: Eid ul Azha
In Bangladesh, Eid ul Azha is one of the year’s most significant social moments, marked by a mass exodus from cities like Dhaka and Chattogram toward ancestral villages. Known simply as Eid-ul-Azha, the festival triggers a surge in railway and bus travel. The returning families bring along not only their sacrificial animals, often adorned with paint and garlands, but also the warmth of kinship. Local markets become epicentres of commerce and celebration. Post-prayer events include poetry sessions, community cooking, and boat races in riverine districts. Tehari, beef curry, and payesh (rice pudding) are the culinary anchors of the day.
Morocco: Bujlood Carnival
In Morocco, Eid ul Azha features several unique customs that blend Amazigh (Berber) and Arab influences. In some villages, sacrificial animals are decorated with henna and wrapped in embroidered cloth the day before the sacrifice, a symbolic gesture of respect.
After the Qurbani, select Amazigh communities celebrate Bujlood or Bilmawen, a post-Eid masquerade in which young men don the hides of sheep and goats, dancing through the streets to the beat of drums, reciting traditional chants, and playfully interacting with children. Moroccan tables are laden with mechoui (whole roast lamb), harira, and fragrant couscous.
Malaysia and Singapore
In Malaysia and Singapore, Eid ul Azha is known as Hari Raya Haji, and though the sacrifice ritual is conducted more discreetly due to urban constraints, the spirit of community shines brightly. Malay Muslims don their finest baju melayu and baju kurung for prayers at national mosques.
Afterwards, the celebration continues in open houses where neighbours, irrespective of faith, are welcomed to share traditional meals like ketupat, lemang, and ayam masak merah. Cultural performances, Qur’an recitation contests, and public storytelling events are common during the festival weekend, often supported by state cultural agencies.
Iran: the Feast of the Salt
In Iran, the festival is called Eid-e Qurban, and while not as publicly exuberant as in other nations, it holds a strong familial and spiritual presence. Unique to some Iranian communities is the moniker Eid-e Namaki (Salty Eid), referring to the savoury meat dishes that define the celebratory menu. Kebab koobideh, haleem, and ash are commonly prepared and shared among extended families.
In parts of Kurdistan and Khorasan, folk music and hand drum performances known as daf concerts follow evening meals, often accompanied by poetry recitations in Persian or Kurdish.
Western Countries
In diaspora-rich nations like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, Muslims celebrate Eid ul Azha in increasingly diverse and public ways. Parks and convention centres host large prayer congregations, often attracting Muslims from various ethnic backgrounds. Food festivals, charity fundraisers, and interfaith Eid dinners are increasingly popular, reflecting a blend of religious identity and civic belonging.
Here, Eid becomes not just a personal expression of devotion but also a cultural dialogue, where Eid Mubarak is shared with neighbours, colleagues, and local officials in a spirit of inclusivity.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Kurban Bajram
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eid ul Azha is called Kurban Bajram, and its observance carries layers of post-war poignancy, faith, and cultural renewal. In Sarajevo, Mostar, and other towns with significant Bosniak populations, the day begins with families dressing in traditional embroidered dimije and fes, heading to local mosques for early morning Bajram-namaz (Eid prayers). The streets echo with the greeting Bajram Šerif Mubarek Olsun.
While the act of sacrifice is performed according to Islamic tradition, what makes Bosnian Eid striking is the intergenerational ritual of visiting elders, graves of martyrs, and neighbours, an echo of komšiluk, the deeply ingrained tradition of neighbourliness.
Tables brim with burek, sogan dolma, begova čorba (bey’s soup), and handmade baklava. Families often play sevdalinka, melancholic Bosnian folk music that speaks to love, loss, and endurance. In the post-conflict context, Kurban Bajram becomes both a spiritual and cultural act of survival and reunion.
Russia: Eid in the Cold Frontiers
Across Russia, Eid ul Azha, called Kurban Bayram, is celebrated by over 20 million Muslims, particularly in regions like Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chechnya, Dagestan, and the growing Muslim communities of Moscow and St Petersburg.
In Moscow, large crowds gather at the majestic Moscow Cathedral Mosque, Europe’s largest, for Eid prayers that often overflow into the surrounding streets. The scale and logistics have become so significant that local authorities arrange additional public transport and set up video screens. Tatar Muslims in Kazan celebrate with special mosque sermons in Tatar language, followed by Qurbani distribution and shared meals of pilaf, chak-chak (honey-soaked pastry), and mutton stews.
In the North Caucasus, particularly in Chechnya and Dagestan, the celebrations carry a martial grace: sword dances, horse shows, and folk wrestling are traditional accompaniments to communal feasting. Songs in Avar, Kumyk, and Chechen languages fill the air as the cultural memory of mountain Islamic traditions fuses with the formal religious rites. The festival here is deeply collective, with strong state patronage in many republics.
China: Eid al-Adha
In China, Eid ul Azha is known as Gǔ’ěrbān Jié among the Hui Muslims and Qurban Heyt among Uyghurs. Despite regional restrictions, especially in Xinjiang, where Uyghur Muslims face severe curbs, many still manage to observe the festival in culturally resonant ways.
Among the Hui Muslim communities of Ningxia, Gansu, and Yunnan, the festival is marked by early morning congregational prayers at grand mosques designed with traditional Chinese architectural features, curved roofs, dragon motifs, and courtyards. Hui families prepare traditional halal dishes such as hand-pulled noodles, lamb dumplings, and steamed buns, and share the sacrificial meat with neighbours of all backgrounds.
Among the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, the festival has long involved colourful social traditions: children receiving new clothes, families visiting the shrines (mazar), and celebrations with Uyghur folk music (muqam) and dance, especially the iconic Sama. In rural areas, Eid was once marked by community storytelling, horse races, and open-air poetry sessions, many of which are now severely curtailed or closely monitored. Still, the religious memory survives through intergenerational teaching and whispered greetings of Eid Mubarak in the Uyghur language.
Global Unity, Local Echoes
From Sarajevo to Urumqi, Grozny to Kuala Lumpur, Eid ul Azha continues to evolve as both a sacred obligation and a living cultural performance. It is at once a personal act of devotion and a deeply communal experience. Whether offered in the shadow of minarets or under watchful state eyes, the spirit of Eid ul Azha, the test of sacrifice, the celebration of kinship, and the hunger for peace, remains remarkably alive in Muslim lives across the world.
In several countries, particularly in parts of Europe, the ritual sacrifice central to Eid ul Azha is either heavily regulated or outright prohibited due to animal welfare laws, secular policies, or rising tides of Islamophobia. In nations like Denmark, Sweden, and Slovenia, non-stunned ritual slaughter is banned, effectively making traditional Qurbani impossible unless imported or adapted to local law.
In Switzerland, a ban on unstunned slaughter has been in place since 1893. Even in France, Belgium, and parts of Germany, home to sizeable Muslim populations, the increasing enforcement of stunning requirements and public opposition to visible religious rituals have cast a shadow over Eid celebrations. These restrictions often echo broader anxieties about Muslim visibility in public life, pushing Qurbani rituals behind closed doors or abroad, and replacing sacrifice with monetary charity (sadaqah). For many Muslims in these regions, Eid becomes a quieter, more internal affair, focused on prayer, community meals, and resilience in the face of regulatory and cultural pushback.
A Festival Shared, Yet Distinct
Eid ul Azha remains a unifying ritual of devotion and sacrifice, yet its expression is profoundly shaped by local identities. Whether it’s the masquerade dancers of Morocco, the imperial horsemen of Nigeria, or the night-long Takbiran in Java, these cultural textures enrich the spiritual experience. For Muslims across continents, Eid is not merely about remembering Ibrahim’s sacrifice, it is about honouring community, reviving heritage, and rediscovering joy in familiar traditions, both old and new.
