CHINA | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [194] | View Smaller Image
Qurban is the biggest festival in the Uyghur calendar. Each family purchases and then sacrifices their own sheep to remember when the prophet Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son, but then God provided a substitute of a sheep at the last second.
At the start of the day the city was abuzz with the festivities of the day; men on their way to the mosque, women buying supplies for the celebrations and sheep being sold on the street. However a couple hours later the atmosphere had changed completely; a sombre mood of remembrance set on community.
As the blood lingered in the streets the reasons for the festival also lingered with everyone as they spent the rest of the day with their families.
