October 15, 2013, declared holiday

FEAST OF SACRIFICE Muslim women for peace during the celebration of the Eid’l Adha, the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice, at the Quezon City Hall.  INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / ARNOLD ALMACEN

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino has declared October 15, Tuesday, a public holiday throughout the country in observance of  the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice or Eidul Adha or Feast of Sacrifice.

Aquino signed the Proclamation No. 658 on October 3 but it was made public only on Friday.

The President based the proclamation on Republic Act No. 9849, which provides that Eidul Adha be celebrated every year as a regular holiday.

Eid’l Adha is one of the two greatest feasts of Islam, but the date of the festival is based on the declaration made by Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body.

The other is Eid’l Fitr or the Feast of Breaking the Fast that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Eid’l Adha is the 10th day in the month of Hajj, or the pilgrimage to Mecca, during which Muslims pay homage to Abraham’s supreme act of sacrifice that signifies mankind’s obedience to God.

This year, Malacañang said that the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos had recommended that the observance of Eid’l Adha be on October 15, “and the Eid’l Adha prayer be performed on the final declaration of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”