Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has occasioned some rather depressing posts on this blog (2007, 2008).  My friend Brian, who lives in Jordan, today has a completely different and utterly fascinating take on Black Friday.

By way of contrast Eid al-Adha falls on a different day each year as Muslims follow a lunar calendar.  This year the Thursday of Thanksgiving corresponded with the preparation day before the actual beginning of the festival.  The 5-day government holiday begins on preparation  day.  The streets were crowded yesterday with people making their last minute purchases for the holiday.  I was caught in a couple of traffic jams.  The interesting contrast with Thanksgiving is that many Muslims fast on preparation day.  Feasting and Fasting.  Traditionally in America early Thanksgiving Days were accompanied by a day (or even days) of fasting as people expressed their gratitude to God for his blessings. But it seems we Americans have lost that tradition over the years, preferring the feast to the fast.

The entire post is well worth your time.  Nothing like a completely different angle to lend some perspective to my own traditions.