Ahead of this year’s Eid al-Adha holiday, the prices of live sacrificial animals have increased by 15-20 percent compared with last year, Agriculturalists’ Association of Turkey (TZD) President İbrahim Yetkin said at a press conference on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia’s bourse has already closed for Eid al-Adha and most other markets in the Middle East will do so from Wednesday, so trading activity may be lower than usual on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the deputy joint special representative for the hybrid peacekeeping in Darfur (UNAMID), Abiodun Oluremi Bashua, urged the Sudanese people in a message on the occasion of Eid al-Adha to draw lessons of peace and sacrifice from the story of Abraham and his son.

To make the Eid experience enjoyable for the children, this year the Islamic Society of Central Jersey will host food stalls, and vendors selling fun items after morning prayers at Rowland Park. Setting the prices is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy, he said.

Another resident, Hakeem, said prices of imported sacrificial animals range from Dh450 to Dh900, but the prices shoot up by nearly 100 per cent on the day of Arafah. “Many residents prefer to buy the animals and take it directly to the abattoir for slaughtering due lack of space to keep them”. Although this division is not obligatory, nearly all Muslims practice it in order to make sure that everyone can partake in the feast. Only one person can sacrifice a goat or a lamb. This is a very big number by any standard, especially considering that we haven’t counted the money that is spent on other celebratory customs, such as new clothes, snacks for guests, pocket money for the children, and so on.

“In line with the Eid Al Adha announcement from the federal authority, schools are only off from September 23-26, 2015 and will resume on September 27”.