Why over a billion people around the world are fasting #Ramadan #Eid
The month of Ramadan has just begun for over a billion Muslims around the world; thirty days of fasting from sunrise to sunset. While it may sound harsh to some, as Muslims there is so much beauty in Ramadan and what it represents. When Muslims fast (in our case for almost 18 hours) it invigorates your other senses in many ways. For myself and my community it’s a beautiful time of charity, giving to the poor, spending time with friends and family and connecting with one another.
For those who don’t know, Muslims who are either pregnant, nursing, elderly or not yet at the age of puberty do not need to fast; the same goes for those who are ill or whose health would be adversely affected by their fasting.
Growing up, I used to beg my parents to fast. Mind you, the days (and fasts) were much shorter back then. It really used to mean waking up just before school, eating, going to school and then coming home and breaking your fast a short while later. As Islam follows a lunar calendar, Ramadan moves earlier and earlier each year. This year, it happens to coincide with some of the longest (and hottest) days of the year. For now, my kids fast half days though they wish they could go longer. They will have the morning meal and then fast until lunch (or when they get hungry), then wait until supper. If it’s too hot or they have an activity planned I encourage them not to as they are still young and it is not compulsory on them.
In many ways, as a Muslim born and raised in North America, Ramadan is like a communal hug. We get to see friends and family several times a week (something that we might otherwise not do), we also get to share communal meals. Some of my children’s favourite memories of their summer so far is of swimming at their friend’s place then staying over to share a late night (8:45pm or so) meal consisting of all their favourites. There is no specific food or drink. As there are Muslims around the world, the food varies from country to country.
The breaking of the fast is referred to as Iftar (If-taar). For those of us born and raised here some of our favourite summer meals tend to be made on the grill. Nothing like sharing a big barbecue dinner with fresh salads or rotisserie chicken with all the fixings with friends. Fruit and dates are usually aplenty as it’s important to re-hydrate your body. Dates have so many health benefits, you can read more about them here.
In the morning, we share what is called Suhoor (Suh-hoor) which is a pre-dawn meal. In our case, in Montreal, that means somewhere around 2:30-3:00am. I shared a couple of great recipes to help hydrate and keep you full on Breakfast Television Montreal recently. You can watch the segment below:
What Ramadan represents for the Muslim community
While some friends have joked that we must be thrilled when Ramadan is almost over, the truth is it brings a sadness. We don’t want it to end. So many of us fall in love with the feeling of charity, selflessness and community that we associate with the month.
I’ll miss sitting around the table with my friends and family who have fasted. The impromptu potlucks where a bunch of friends will get together with whatever they had made for home, and just share a meal, giving to charity but most of all, giving of ourselves. To me personally Ramadan represents a time of introspection, reflection, and taking care of my community. As a mom I am honoured to pass these memories and traditions on to my children.
Before we know it the long fasts will be gone and life will return to its regular routine. Before it does though, we will celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr. We will dress up in our finest, pray as a community, then share gifts and goodies with our friends, families and neighbours. Looking after one another and celebrating our differences is an inherently Canadian value, and I am honoured to celebrate it as a Muslim woman.
If we’d all focus on our similarities, our rituals, festivals they are very similar and of course what we all want for our families is the same – health and happiness, it’s important to honor the traditions of your upbringing, our traditions are the foundation of the building of our faith and should always be upheld.
Beautifully stated and so true. I couldn’t agree with you more.
I could not imagine living like that for a whole month. Wow.
I think this is so interesting. I didn’t quite understand the fasting before, though I have friends who participate.
While we don’t celebrate Ramadan I did got o school with a few people growing up that did! I loved reading about your experience! What a wonderful time to be involved in charity and to reflect!
Thanks! It is. It’s only been done for a few days now and we already miss it.
Wow, great information about Ramadan, which I didn’t know anything about before reading! Thanks for posting!!!
My pleasure 🙂
I don’t think I know one Muslim personally. I imagine it must take extreme faith and willpower to fast from sun up to sun down. I admire that.
It does take faith and willpower but doesn’t seem like much of a sacrifice once you do start fasting. The added sense of community really compensates for it.
I agree, fasting opens up your other senses. It sounds like a great bonding experience.
It is!
I never knew all of this about Ramadan. Thanks for sharing such an informative post about a beautiful tradition.
My pleasure Pam 🙂
This is so interesting. I admit to knowing very little about Ramadan so thank you!
It really sounds like this is a wonderful experience for you, your friends, and family. That is so great!
I have fasted a little before, but nothing like this. Thank you for sharing this. Very interesting!
It is great to know all of this. So neat to know why and what it means to you.
I always love learning about other cultures and beliefs. I know people who are fasting as well.
I admire your discipline! I love learning about different cultures and beliefs, thanks for sharing a part of your life!
It sounds like a wonderful time of year, and I can see why it might be sad to see it come to an end. The good feelings of selflessness and community are so invigorating.
You hit the nail on the head! That feeling of spiritual invigoration is exactly what I miss most.
Thank you for sharing. I love learning more about different backgrounds.
Many of my friends are celebrating Ramadan. You have such strength to get through the day every day without eating!
Living in Toronto and it being full of different cultures my kids have learned a lot about Eid. I had no idea what it was, but they’ve taught me about it. I love learning about different cultures and the fact my kids can too, and we can understand. That’s amazing you were on BT! How exciting!
Great post. Thanks for sharing. I enjoy reading about rituals, customs and traditions that other people have. I appreciate your your great post as well as the great photos to go with it.
Here in Michigan we have a very large Muslim community. I believe Dearborn is the largest as the entire town makes changes to help and respect the community. I think its amazing. I love to learn about other cultures and grew up in a large city full of different cultures. Such a wonderful post.
Everyone has different reactions to fasting. I think it’s a dedicated and thoughtful part of people’s beliefs
I tok World Religions in college and we did a study on Ramadan. I think it is a beautiful Muslim tradition.
I had a guest poster last year who put up food vendors from Ramadan. Man, it was some good looking eats!
For the longest time, I thought fasting was the entire day. It’s interesting to learn about this.
Thanks for this post, I’ve always wanted to know more about Ramadan. Love it!
I had never heard about this before, was nice to read a bit and learn. Thank you for sharing a culture I had no experience/knowledge of.
Love learning about other cultures. Thank you for sharing. I have one Muslim friend that I worked with for a few years; we would support him during Ramadan. Beautiful that your children are so eager to fast.
Thank you for sharing this information on Ramadan. I am always interesting in learning about other cultures and their religious beliefs. Thanks for sharing.