Ramadan was officially declared by the Moon Observer Committee to start July 20. This will be our first Ramadan experience - the holy month for Islamic people.
We didn't know much about Ramadan prior to being immersed into middle eastern culture. Mostly because we don't know any muslims back home and because the religion is a minority, so there's no real change in our society. I would compare it to a mix of Christmas and 40 days of Lent.
Weeks leading up to Ramadan, it was becoming clear that there was a buzz in the air as people were getting ready for this special occasion. It lasts for 4 weeks, starting with the sighting of the new moon and ending on a full moon followed by Eid Al-Fitr (celebration ending ramadan). During the month, people are required to fast - not only food, but also water, smoking, and even gum (my vice ;). This makes for some interesting dynamics in the office! Thank goodness the work hours are reduced to 7am-1pm or 9am to 2pm for muslims. Non muslims carry on as normal, even though 90% of the people are at home resting or preparing for Iftar (break the fast at sunset). So the office gets eerily quiet in the afternoons. You can still get a coffee in the morning thankfully, but you have to congregate to the 'sin' room to do so!
Muslims are also suppose to do more praying, good deeds and give back to charity. There are a bunch of sale specials on for the month at the grocery stores, car dealers, clothing stores, etc. Ramadan kareem ;)
All the restaurants are closed during the day and reopen in the evenings around Iftar, luckily the grocery stores are open all day. Alcohol is not sold anywhere during the month so we had fun stocking up on booze at the club store - everyone had their carts loaded to the max. If you dare go out in the evening, you'll face traffic jams and really really crazy drivers as they are likely hungry, dehydrated and trying to get to where they're going for Iftar. We have been told that each break the fast is typically a feast with family and friends that lasts until early hours of the morning. I give it until next week before people really start coming late to work. But then again it's culturally acceptable, which is odd to us. We did get a chance to tie on one before ramadan started, some friends hosted pre-Ramadan parties in light of what was coming!
There is supposed to be a day during Ramadan where non muslims fast for charity. I'm looking forward to trying it out to see what they've gone through over the past few weeks. Hopefully we will be excused from work at 1 as well...
And a link to an article that is ridiculous! I still can't believe what I read over here sometimes. Article
We didn't know much about Ramadan prior to being immersed into middle eastern culture. Mostly because we don't know any muslims back home and because the religion is a minority, so there's no real change in our society. I would compare it to a mix of Christmas and 40 days of Lent.
Weeks leading up to Ramadan, it was becoming clear that there was a buzz in the air as people were getting ready for this special occasion. It lasts for 4 weeks, starting with the sighting of the new moon and ending on a full moon followed by Eid Al-Fitr (celebration ending ramadan). During the month, people are required to fast - not only food, but also water, smoking, and even gum (my vice ;). This makes for some interesting dynamics in the office! Thank goodness the work hours are reduced to 7am-1pm or 9am to 2pm for muslims. Non muslims carry on as normal, even though 90% of the people are at home resting or preparing for Iftar (break the fast at sunset). So the office gets eerily quiet in the afternoons. You can still get a coffee in the morning thankfully, but you have to congregate to the 'sin' room to do so!
Muslims are also suppose to do more praying, good deeds and give back to charity. There are a bunch of sale specials on for the month at the grocery stores, car dealers, clothing stores, etc. Ramadan kareem ;)
All the restaurants are closed during the day and reopen in the evenings around Iftar, luckily the grocery stores are open all day. Alcohol is not sold anywhere during the month so we had fun stocking up on booze at the club store - everyone had their carts loaded to the max. If you dare go out in the evening, you'll face traffic jams and really really crazy drivers as they are likely hungry, dehydrated and trying to get to where they're going for Iftar. We have been told that each break the fast is typically a feast with family and friends that lasts until early hours of the morning. I give it until next week before people really start coming late to work. But then again it's culturally acceptable, which is odd to us. We did get a chance to tie on one before ramadan started, some friends hosted pre-Ramadan parties in light of what was coming!
There is supposed to be a day during Ramadan where non muslims fast for charity. I'm looking forward to trying it out to see what they've gone through over the past few weeks. Hopefully we will be excused from work at 1 as well...
And a link to an article that is ridiculous! I still can't believe what I read over here sometimes. Article
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