How is Eid al-Adha celebrated and why is it called the Festival of Sacrifices?
TODAY Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Adha, the holiest holiday in the Islamic calendar - but what actually happens on this day?
Translated as 'Festival of the Sacrifice', Eid al-Adha commemorates the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmael.
If this sounds a bit familiar, it's because a very similar story appears in the Old Testament - when God tests Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac on a mountain, before halting Abraham and instructing him to sacrifice a ram instead.
Eid al-Adha, which is also known as the 'Greater Eid', falls on the 10th day of the final, and most sacred, month of the Islamic calendar - Dhu'l-Hijjah. The date varies each year as the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, rather than a solar calendar like the Gregorian calendar in the West.
The 'lesser Eid', Eid-al-Fitr, marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset.
On Eid al-Adha, Muslims attend morning prayers at local mosques - often taking a different route back to their home, as this is following the example of the Prophet Muhammad. Some Muslims also pray as part of community-led events in public places, such as parks.
They also wear their best clothes - ideally a new outfit, but just something clean and tidy if you can't afford it.
Muslims will often actually receive new clothes as a present, as families and friends gather together to exchange gifts and eat traditional food, which varies depending on the country.
Older relatives will usually give younger family members money, too.
You've likely also heard of people wishing each other an 'Eid Mubarak' - which translates as 'blessed Eid'.
Unsurprisingly, one of the defining aspects of Eid al-Adha is the sacrifice itself. While in some countries, Muslim families buy, keep and slaughter their own animal, anyone the UK wishing to sacrifice an animal has to make arrangements for it to be done so humanely. There are also Islamic rules which dictate the animal must be an adult and in good health.
The Qurbani (sacrificial) meat is then divided into three equal parts - one for the household, one for relatives and friends, and one for the poor. The meat can go to anyone, even if they're not Muslim themselves. Sometimes, Muslims choose to donate money for an animal to sacrifice in a different, poorer country.
Muslims will traditionally eat a meal made using the sacrificial meat - such as curries in South Asia, tagines in North Africa and kebabs in the Middle East.
They will then often end up eating a few more, as many countries have recipes to use up almost every part of the animal.
Families will also prepare scores of super-indulgent cakes, biscuits and desserts as part of the feast - such as Turkish baklava and Indian rice pudding.
This year, millions of animals are set to be sacrificed during the festival - with the reporting almost 10 million are slaughtered each year in Pakistan alone.