Eid second day: families arrange parties with mouth watering dishes

LAHORE - The second day of Eid-ul-Azha was also celebrated with great enthusiasm on
Tuesday amid arranging parties with mouth-watering dishes and distributing the sacrificial animal meat among the poor and relatives.

Those who could not slaughter their animals on the first day of Eid due to the engagement of butchers or some other reasons would continue the practice on the second and third day.

Families and youngsters are arranging special barbecue parties on rooftops, green lawns and open-air places as well other picnic spots, for their friends and family members.

Some of families and youngsters, on the second day of Eid-ul-Azha, thronged public parks, open-air spaces and hill sides and arranged barbecue parties that filled the air with the smoked aroma of grilled food.

Barbecue parties are considered to be the perfect way to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha, as the meat of different varieties is easily available to everyone.

This second major festival brings scrumptious and delicious dishes of meat for food lovers, and almost every family arranges parties with mouth-watering recipes.

A student, Ibrahim Ahmed Bhatti said, "Such parties not only give us an opportunity to enjoy Eid with loved-ones but also give us a chance to taste different types of dishes made of sacrificial meat."
"Week-long holidays along with the pleasant weather, especially in the morning with light rain on Tuesday have added charm to Eid festivities as I can enjoy delicious meat dishes with my family and friends," he said.

"I have a great time when all family members, relatives and friends enjoy food and gossip on Eid," said Abdullah Bhatti, enjoying at a barbecue party.

Eidul Azha comes once a year and the tradition of sharing meat with neighbours and the needy gives everyone a chance to store some meat for the coming days to eat and serve guests.

Eidul Azha also served as a good opportunity for business for butchers and knife sharpeners and blacksmiths across the country. In fact, professional butchers minted a lot of money on Eid Days and charged heavy amounts from people for sacrificing their animals.

Finding a butcher during Eid is a difficult task so most people prefer to sacrifice animals themselves to follow Sunnah and avoid inconvenience.

As Muslims sacrificed animals to perform their religious obligation, butchers will remain in great demand even on the third day of Eid.

On the eve of Eid, blacksmiths did lucrative business as the sale of hand-made knives and choppers went high while people rushed to get their old knives sharpened.

The event of performing `Qurbani', a Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Ibrahim (AS), is a unique way of distributing meat among relatives, friends and the poor, besides enjoying scrumptious dishes of sacrificial meat.

A blacksmith in Aabpara market said that knives for slaughtering animals, taking off their skin and chopping meat, were prepared days before Eid.

Other utensils used for barbecue were another income opportunity, as people arranged barbecue parties and family get-togethers till one week after Eid, he said.

During Eid days, knife sellers also roamed around on bicycles to sell their products and to sharpen old knives. Meanwhile, health experts have asked citizens not to eat too much meat at a time as it can be harmful to their health, especially during the current season.