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Kurdistan
Muslim Kurds wherever they are in the world can't celebrate Eid without traditional food and sweets. Photo: Rudaw TV
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Germany’s Kurdish diaspora celebrated the beginning of Eid al-Adha on Sunday with customary visits to family and friends.
Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, is a major Islamic holiday observed over four days in most Sunni Islamic countries.
Festivities are taken seriously in the Kurdistan Region, where more than 95 percent of Kurds are Muslim. Kurdish clothing and cookery are defining features of the celebration.
In diaspora, however, the festivities can be a more muted affair, leaving Kurds nostalgic for home.
“We tell our children about how we used to celebrate Eid with pardoning and forgiveness,” Luqman Ali, a Kurd living in Germany, told Rudaw on Sunday.
“We visit as many relatives and friends as possible. We also make phone calls to our relatives and friends in the Kurdistan Region to celebrate Eid.”
Although Eid feels different living in diaspora, “the important thing is to preserve our culture,” he added.
There are roughly one million Kurds living in Germany, predominantly from Turkey. Many are registered as Turks, who make up the second largest ethnic minority in the country.
But with whole extended families living in diaspora across Europe, Eid offers a great occasion to bring everyone together for a reminder of home.
“We have received a great number of guests from The Netherlands,” Ali’s wife Shler said. She has prepared Kurdish dishes of rice, beans, and meat for their guests.
Eid is also a great occasion to teach Kurdish children raised in diaspora about their cultural roots.
“We have taught our children how to live like Kurds such as keeping friendship. They should not isolate themselves or give up their culture. I and my family go to Kurdistan every year and stay there for a while,” Ali said.
Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, is a major Islamic holiday observed over four days in most Sunni Islamic countries.
Festivities are taken seriously in the Kurdistan Region, where more than 95 percent of Kurds are Muslim. Kurdish clothing and cookery are defining features of the celebration.
In diaspora, however, the festivities can be a more muted affair, leaving Kurds nostalgic for home.
“We tell our children about how we used to celebrate Eid with pardoning and forgiveness,” Luqman Ali, a Kurd living in Germany, told Rudaw on Sunday.
“We visit as many relatives and friends as possible. We also make phone calls to our relatives and friends in the Kurdistan Region to celebrate Eid.”
Although Eid feels different living in diaspora, “the important thing is to preserve our culture,” he added.
There are roughly one million Kurds living in Germany, predominantly from Turkey. Many are registered as Turks, who make up the second largest ethnic minority in the country.
But with whole extended families living in diaspora across Europe, Eid offers a great occasion to bring everyone together for a reminder of home.
“We have received a great number of guests from The Netherlands,” Ali’s wife Shler said. She has prepared Kurdish dishes of rice, beans, and meat for their guests.
Eid is also a great occasion to teach Kurdish children raised in diaspora about their cultural roots.
“We have taught our children how to live like Kurds such as keeping friendship. They should not isolate themselves or give up their culture. I and my family go to Kurdistan every year and stay there for a while,” Ali said.
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