The Kuwaiti people celebrate Eid Al-Adha with diverse rituals and customarily practices namely sacrificial sheep slaughter, a tradition from which “eid al-lahm” (the meat eid) derives.

Families prepare for pilgrims’ return from sacred sites in Saudi Arabia, eager to receive gifts from Makkah and Medina and prepare dinners in honor for the gathering with their loved ones, said Saleh Al-Mesbah, a historian and chronicler of the Kuwaiti heritage in an interview with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

Kuwaitis, like many Muslims elsewhere in the world, slaughter sheep (or other cattle) immediately after prayers, early in the morning. Particularly in the past, they used to do the ritual in the house courtyard, witnessed by family members.

Father of the family, particularly in the old times, himself slaughters the sheep. Aided by relatives, he skins it and distributes the meat to relatives, neighbors and the poor. With no fridges to preserve perishables, the family retains third of the livestock and cook it totally for a celebratory lunch.

A neighborhood (Al-Fereej in Kuwaiti dialect) used to comprise 20-25 households. An average of four-five houses…