Ramadaan FACT SHEET Whether you’re celebrating Ramadaan or not, there are many delicious food traditions to learn about
WHEN IS RAMADAAN?
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
For the month, fasters cannot eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset. This is a way of cleansing themselves, taking away the comforts of the daily routine and focusing the mind on prayer and spirituality.
Dates are eaten in the evening to break the fast
EID UL-FITR
Eid ul-Fitr, the ‘feast of fast-breaking’, is the celebration to mark the end of Ramadaan. It begins as soon as the new moon is seen. In many communities, Eid is quite elaborate: people wear new clothes, children are given gifts of money, special pastries are baked, the graves of relatives are visited, and people gather for family meals and to pray in mosques.
Ramadaan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is the holiest month of the year. The holy month changes dates each year, as the Islamic calendar follows the movements of the moon and is around 11 days shorter than the standard Gregorian calendar. This means that the first day of Ramadaan moves backwards by around 11 days each year. The month starts and ends with the appearance of the new moon.
W H O FA S T S ?
Not eating or drinking all day can be pretty challenging, so there are certain groups of people who do not need to fast: the elderly, pregnant women, mentally or physically ill people, and women who are breastfeeding. If someone falls ill during Ramadaan, or if a woman is on her menstrual cycle, they can stop fasting and make up those days after Ramadaan. Volunteering or feeding the poor can be substituted for fasting, if necessary. What about kids? Children are not obligated to fast until they hit puberty. Before this, families may get their children used to the concept by starting with halfday or weekend fasting, or by abstaining from eating certain types of food.
Dates are high in sugar, which helps to restore blood-sugar levels
POWER OF THE MOON
The start of Ramadaan is often up in the air (literally) until the last minute – it all depends on a sighting of the new moon. In many places (including SA), people still wait for someone to see the new moon with the naked eye. As a result, the dates differ by a day or two around the world. Some countries now use observatories and astronomical calculations, leading to a standardised starting time.