Aid el-Kebir in the Maghreb

About Aid el-Kebir in the Maghreb

In Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, Eid al-Adha is called Aid el-Kebir, the Great Eid, and is a major family holiday. In the days before, sheep are bought, kept on rooftops and in courtyards, and groomed. After the morning prayer, the head of the household sacrifices the animal, and the first meal is often brochettes of the liver, wrapped in fat and grilled over charcoal. The rest of the meat is shared, with portions given to the poor, and prepared over the next days as tagines, mechoui, roast lamb, and dried and preserved meat, called khlii. Families wear new clothes, and children are given gifts. Relatives who live in other cities or abroad return, and everyone visits older relatives. Sweet tea and pastries are served to visitors.

Aid el-Kebir in the Maghreb dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

This date follows the moon or a local calendar and can move by a day, so check with a local source nearer the time.

What is eaten

• mechoui
• liver brochettes
• tagine
• khlii
• mint tea

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