RIADH: Eid-ul-Adha, the second largest religious festival of the Muslims, will be celebrated in Saudi Arab and Middle East countries on October 4. 

Saudi authorities announced that the month of Zil Haj would begin on Thursday. Accordingly the Day of Arafat would fall on October 3.

The Eid al-Adha celebration marks the end of hajj, a religious pilgrimage undertaken by millions of Muslims each year.

The Islamic calendar is based on Moon’s movements and many Muslim communities rely on eye-sighting of the crescent to mark the start of a month while some countries base the calendar on astronomic charts.

The Hajj (pilgrimage), one of the five pillars of Islam, is performed on the eighth, ninth and the tenth of this month.

BDST: 0901 HRS, SEP 25, 2014