Hari Raya Haji

I understand the significance of this day is similar to thanksgiving. People slaughter cows and give them as food to the poor. The same way families take a break from their daily routines to gather for this purpose.

As a child, I used to cycle past random cows and goats tied to ropes within the confines of the neighborhood mosque. Grazing on grass one day, probably oblivious of what they are about to face. I've never seen the ceremony or the process of the slaughter but I can faintly remember my parents drove through the mosque once and I saw like a glimpse of what was happening. About 4 or 5 (maybe more) men is needed to hold the cow. And there'll be another dude with the knife-y thing. There was struggle, there was sweat, there was blood, there were sounds.

Cruel. You'd say. But that's not the point.

The very reason why we are alive now is because many lives ended. Some certainly ended in this manner.