By Adam Ashton

Seattle Times:  For the past few years, Nawal  of Baghdad couldn't travel to see her family for the Eid al-Adha, giving up the traditional reunion during the annual Muslim holiday because the roads weren't safe.

The explosions that regularly shook her neighborhood in 2006 and 2007 have ceased, however, and she packed up her kids  and  took  them to see their grandparents in Hillah, a city about 60 miles south of Baghdad.

"This is the first time we've left our house in the Eid," she said, smiling, in a public park along the Tigris River with her six children and husband.

"Now I feel it's real safety, not just propaganda," she said.

Nawal is one of many Iraqis who are enjoying a noticeable decrease in violence over the past year, a trend that's allowing them to celebrate the holidays as they once did.

In Baghdad, people crowded street markets at night  buying new clothes, another tradition for families who can afford it. Many bought sheep for a religious sacrifice that also honors deceased relatives.

"This Eid is the most beautiful Eid of the last few years," said Mazin Shihan, 34, Nawal's  husband. "During the last Eid, we didn't see families anywhere. Now they're everywhere."

Families gathered at Abu Nawas Park.The scent of popcorn drifted along a paved path where vendors sold snacks ranging from hamburgers to figs.

Children played on swing sets while adults laughed at picnic tables on a sunny but cool day.

"It gives me a feeling of friendship, happiness, life and peace," said Heider al-Jabouri, a sculptor from Hillah who went to the park with his sister's and his children.