Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Muscat: Preparations are being made to celebrate Eid Al Adha over the long weekend, as people gear up to welcome the traditions associated with the holiday.
With the Eid holidays running from Saturday, 8 July, to Tuesday the 12th, a number of arrangements have been made to celebrate the five-day weekend, which starts on the coming Friday.
Traditional practices will come to the fore this Eid, as they do every year. The Habta souq, a mainstay of the holiday, has been given special attention, with regional authorities earmarking spaces close to local landmarks such as castles, forts and other historical sites, for the celebrations to be organised.
The Habta market represents an important time for traders, who welcome both people who live in the surrounding areas, as well as those who go to their hometowns to celebrate the holiday with their families. It is also a congregating point for livestock traders, with the traditional sacrifice being one of the most important aspects of Eid Al Adha.
So much so that this year more than 269,000 livestock animals have been imported into the country to ensure an uninterrupted supply of meat for the upcoming celebrations.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries Wealth and Water Resources said it was “working on permanent coordination with companies to import livestock, provide all facilities and simplify procedures and conditions for the process of issuing licences to import different varieties of livestock, to ensure the continuation of the supply chain for animal products for the preparations of Eid Al Adha.”
During Eid Al Adha, nationals who work away from their hometowns often travel back to their home to celebrate with their extended families. While many will be looking forward to getting on the road once work ends on Thursday evening to begin their extended weekend, they have been asked to not let that excitement translate into haste while they are behind the wheels.
“Of course, everybody is keen to start their long weekend, but sometimes, you see people acting crazy on the road because they want to get to their destination as soon as possible,” said Ali Al Barwani, former CEO of the Oman Road Safety Association. “Please drive properly on the road. If you do not, you are endangering yourself, your family and other drivers and pedestrians as well.”
It being a common practice for people to travel to other parts of Oman, as well as overseas, to celebrate the holiday, 21 hotels managed by national tourism development body Omran have offered discounts to entice visitors under their ‘Within Oman’ scheme.
