More than 300 children from the Muslim communities in Accra have received pieces of fabrics, under the Emirate Red Crescent Eid Clothing Project 2024, to celebrate the Eid ul-Adha on Sunday, June 16.

The fabrics were distributed to the needy and orphans by the Islamic Council for Development and Humanitarian Services (ICODEHS), local partners of the Emirate Red Crescent, last Sunday, in Accra.

In addition, each beneficiary was given GH¢70 for the cost of sewing of the fabric into their chosen style.

Wearing a new dress is a well-known tradition and practices among Muslims that is inseparable from the celebration of the two Muslim festivals of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha, as in the hadiths (teachings and practices) of Prophet of Islam Mohammed (Peace be upon Him) advised Muslims to wear the best clothes on the two occasions.

The chairman of ICODEHS, Sheikh Mustapha Ibrahim, told the Ghanaian Times that project was an annual event instituted by the Emirate Red Crescent to enable the children mark the Eid ul-Adha with "joy, pride and happiness."

He said the Emirate Red Crescent Eid Clothing Project 2024 formed part of social intervention for children in needy communities, to lessen the financial burden of families having to buy new clothes for the children to adorn on Eid day.

The Eid ul-Adha is celebrated worldwide after the completion of the annual Hajj or pilgrimage, where Muslims perform acts of worship to renew and strengthen their faith.

Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, is an obligation only for those men and women who are physically and financially able to perform it once in their lifetime.

Eid ul-Adha is celebrated to commemorate the readiness and obedience of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmael, and at the very point of sacrifice, Allah the almighty replaced prophet Ismail with a ram.

Consequently, Muslims who can afford are expected to sacrifice and honour the occasion by slaughtering an animal, preferably a ram to share the meat with others.