Ramadan and Eid, my experience.

Hi guys, I have not been writing for a while. So many things happened that I would have loved to share with you. But I’m going to make an effort and keep my blog up to date from now on.

My topic today, Ramadan, is one I never thought would come to discussion. You must have heard about it before, either through a friend, someone you know, or simply because you are a Muslim yourself. All my life I’ve had this Muslim friend who was doing Ramadan at a certain point. I knew it was some sort of fast they did because of their religion but I didn’t really understand what it was about.
This year, I decided to learn more about it because I was spending so much time with a Muslim friend of mine who made me very curious about it and I got the privilege of spending the month with her family.

We fasted every day between 3am and 9.20pm, approximately. No food, no water during the whole day. At night at sunset between 9.20-9.30 we would break our fast. Not knowing the exact time of the Iftar (end of the fast for the day) we would check on the Islamic calendar. We went to bed at around 11pm and woke up again at 2am to eat and drink as much as possible before it was time to fast again.

It was just amazing how disciplined I felt and how determined I was to go all the way without breaking my fast. I will admit some days were just harder than others and I might have broken my fast once or twice during that month. Being around people who were fasting made it a little easier sometimes. Some days were harder than others but the important thing is that I kept going. It felt so rewarding to say Ramadan is finished and I was part of it.

The day, after the end of the whole month of Ramadan, comes Eid, a celebration time for the Muslims. No one goes to work, kids don’t go to school etc. It can basically be compared to Christmas but they only have a few days off not 2 whole weeks.
What was interesting it that no one knew what day Eid was going to be, which also meant no one knew on what day Ramadan was going to end.

Muslims use a lunar based calendar, which is called the Islamic calendar. Each month coincide with the phase of the moon and lasts either 29 or 30 days. So to know what day Ramadan begins or ends, people do the moon sightseeing and from there determine if it’s Eid or if there’s still a day of fast, depending on shape of the moon.

So guys I took a few pictures to show my experience during Ramadan and Eid with my friends family. I also took pictures of some people at the Eid gathering who were wearing really interesting and trendy outfits that caught my eye. Check out the details on each garment, I find it just so beautiful.