Celebrating Eid-al-Adha in Rochester

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(ABC 6 News) – Eid-al-Adha runs for 3 to 4 days each year and today the Rochester Muslim Community Center held its celebration.

It’s also known as the Feast of Sacrifice.

In the Quran, it commemorates Abraham’s sacrifice of his son Ishmael to God.

For the community here in Rochester, the holy festival is another reason to get together.

The multiday holiday was filled with prayers, food, and gift giving.

“Eid-Al-Adha goes along with a few other events that are going on in this timeframe which is the pilgrimage and hajj,” Rochester resident Talha Niaz said.

The Muslim community in Rochester gathered at Essex Park to celebrate the holiday.

They were welcomed with lots of delicious food and friendship and a bouncy house for the kids.

For them, it’s a celebration that brings them all together.

“The idea of this holiday is to be with the family, with all your friends, to contribute to the community is actually a major element of this holiday and to be together and to celebrate it together,” Niaz said.

Niaz also said the Muslim community in Rochester almost always celebrates these holidays together, and they’re a tight-knit group.