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This Muslim Family of 1000 Celebrates `Eid in Calgary Park

  No one in the El-Rafih family has a house big enough to fit everyone.

CALGARY – With roots in Canada dating back to the late 1800s, the Lebanese El-Rafih family celebrated `Eid Al-Adha in Calgary Park, saying the family has become “too big” to go house-to-house for the annual holiday.

“We come from a very collectivist culture, right, and family is the core of that culture,” Mohamed El-Rafih told the Calgary Eyeopener, CBC reported.

“Traditionally with `Eid, we would go house-to-house visiting the oldest uncle or grandparents,” El-Rafih added.

“But the families have become too big, Calgary has become too big. The Lebanese population here has increased drastically so now, you know, we come to parks.”

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The family has around 1,000 members who live in Calgary, outnumbering the population of their tiny home village in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.

About 250 individuals of the roughly 250 households turned out to the Tuesday afternoon event at Prairie Winds Park.

`Eid Al-Adha, or “Feast of Sacrifice”, marks the end of the Hajj season and is one of the two most important Islamic celebrations, together with `Eid Al-Fitr.

A financially-able Muslim sacrifices a single sheep or goat or shares with six others in sacrificing a camel or cow as an act of worship during the four-day `Eid Al-Adha celebrations.

This Muslim Family of 1000 Celebrates `Eid in Calgary Park - About Islam

The ritual commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail to Allah as an act of obedience and submission.

The Udhiyah meat is divided into three equal parts, one each for one’s own family, friends and the poor.

This Muslim Family of 1000 Celebrates `Eid in Calgary Park - About Islam

“It’s a lot of fun because you love your family,” Amira Elrafie said.

“When they all come together and you’re all just happy and smiling and just celebrating it all together … It’s like love and everything, right? So we all enjoy each other’s presences.”

On Saturday, the family will be organizing another large `Eid Al-Adha carnival at Bowness Park, which is open to non-Muslim members of the public.

“I think a big pillar of our religion is keeping families together, keeping the community together,” he said.

“So this is one of those opportunities for us, it kind of forces us and compels us to keep family ties and ties of kinship.”