WORCESTER, Mass. – It was a special day for the Islamic centers in the Worcester area Saturday as they celebrated Eid al-Adha. 

The center says it is one of the holiest festivals celebrated by Muslims around the world, and is celebrated following the day of Hajj, which was the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. The Hajj commemorates the intention of Prophet Abraham fulfilling the command of Allah who ordered him to sacrifice his son to test his faith. Since it was a test, the son was not sacrificed and a lamb was sacrificed instead. Muslims around the world sacrifice lamb or goat or cow in the name of god and distribute its meat to the needy and relatives. 

"This community is, as you know, one of the most diverse communities in Massachusetts generally," said Worcester Islamic Center President Osman Acheampong. "So you're going to have all kinds of traditions here. But we have people from Afghanistan here, Iran, people from all over the world here today, so what we're doing, as you'll be seeing now, hugging each other, we'll be congratulating each other for meeting, and so with us and this holiday, and so the significance of it is bringing us together as a community."

Saturday's celebrations featured communal prayers with roughly 3,000 people in attendance.