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NEW DELHI: Eid al-Adha (also known as The Festival of Sacrifice or Bakrid) is being celebrated on Wednesday and marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage (one of the five pillars of Islam).: Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu'l Hijjah, the 12th and final month of the Hijri calendar (a lunar calendar comprising 12 months in a year of 354 days). In India, it will be celebrated today, according to a government circular. The new moon sightings vary between countries, so the exact date depends on local religious authorities.: The festival remembers the story of Ibrahim when Allah appeared to him in a dream and asked him to sacrifice his son Isma'il as an act of obedience to God. As Ibrahim was about to kill his son, Allah stopped him and gave him a lamb to sacrifice instead. Every year, just before Eid al-Adha, Muslims purchase animals (sheep, cow, camel or goat) to sacrifice. The animal is to be treated, fed and loved till the day of the sacrifice, when it is slaughtered.The practice of sacrificing animals commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim to follow God's command to sacrifice his son.: Eid al-Adha is different from Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Fitr means the festival of the breaking of the fast and is celebrated at the end of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Hijri calendar. However, there is no sacrifice of the animal, as on Eid al-Adha.