Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. During this month, Muslims all around the world celebrate the Feast of Ramadan. The Feast of Ramadan is a time of worship and community.
Unlike our calendar, that is based on the sun, the Muslim calendar is based on the moon. The months of our calendar each have 30 or 31 days (except for February). The months of the Muslim calendar each have about 28 days. Each month starts when the crescent moon is sighted in the night sky. This means that the month of Ramadan will start around the 27th of November this year. The month of Ramadan could take place during any season, however, since the calendar is based on the phases of the moon. For instance, in the year 2010, the month of Ramadan will take place during the Gregorian calendar's August-September.
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast (don't eat) during daylight hours. At sunset, they break their fast with prayers and a meal called the iftar.
Muslims believe that is was during the month of Ramadan that Mohammed, the prophet, received the Quran from Allah (God). At the end of Ramadan, the Id-al-Fitr (eed-al-fit-er), or the Feast of the Fast Breaking, is celebrated. Eid means recurring happiness or festivity . Greetings of "Eid-Mubarak" or "a blessed Eid" are exchanged. A very important aspect of eid is the charity which all the Muslims are expected to extend to the needy. The first Eid of the year, is known as "Eid Al Fitr". Al Fitr literally means breaking of fast. Thus Eid Al Fitr is celebrated on the first day of Shawaal, the tenth month in the Muslim calendar, to mark the end of a month long fast during the month of Ramadan. It is considered unholy to fast on this day. It is also a day of forgetting old grudges and ill feelings towards other fellow men.
Resources
Ramadan - Paratha, Moon picture
courtesy of Dagenham and Barking Childminding Association
