Ramadan in our Home

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Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar. It is a true Lunar calendar therefore every year it falls about 10 days earlier. We dry fast from predawn until sunset for the 29/30 days, which can be longer or shorter depending on the season it falls in.

A week before Ramadan the decorations go up. Some are hand-made like the kids handmade pocket calendar quilts, and others like the crescent moon lights are newer additions. During the past decade the market of Ramadan has exploded, I guess I missed the boat on that one! Every home will have their own traditions but certain things are universal, deep cleaning of the home and some sort of lights, especially lanterns. A great series is Ramadan around the World, if nothing else you will enjoy the different traditional foods served in each country and the seeing the traditional drummers walking the streets to awaken the people.Ramadan

Ramadan is one of the five pillars of the faith.  We fast for two reasons; first because it’s obligatory. “It is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you” Quran. Second, to teach us taqwa, ”God consciousness” or profound mindfulness of body, mind, and spirit.

I homeschooled for a long time and miss a time when Ramadan books, unit studies, and Ramadan journals had their spot on our coffee table. Now only my youngest and I keep full journals, The older ones have various apps for tracking prayers and fasts and Quran reading.  I spend more time readying our prayer area, with freshly washed rugs, Qurans, prayer chant beads, soft light lanterns, and our favorite frankincense and amber incense.

Our day begins at 4 a.m., as I stumble out of bed, wash up and wake the household who help me prepare the suhoor, pre-fast meal. Our staples: tea, dates, eggs, olives, leban, olive oil and zaatar spice and fruit, filled water bottles. Oh, and cappuccino (it’s my one thing). Fasting in our time zone starts around 5a.m, once the first call to prayer sounds, we stop eating and drinking, go wash up, brush teeth and ready for the morning prayer. Everyone else tries to catch a few hours of sleep before their day but I relish this time to myself reading Quran, or listening to my favorite female reciters.

Fasting has many levels. Our stomachs fast but so do our other senses.  Music, television or novels are set aside to reawaken our relationship with God. I have loved watching the kids grow in their practice from proudly finishing their first full day of fasting at around 7 or 8 yrs old, choosing where to donate the coins they earned and saved during the month and proudly finishing a portion of the Quran.  By the time kids have reached puberty and must fast, most have already accomplished fasting half the month. They get so excited about Ramadan and even at a young age and I think they realize that when we aren’t focused on our stomachs, on the instant gratification, on filling a bored mind with television or music, we live in a fuller, gentler, kinder more meaningful way. That being said, we do take time as a family to prepare together some special Syrian and Italian dishes reserved for special times like Ramadan.

Community is also a big part of Ramadan. Pre-covid, we broke fast with other families and friends, and at least once a week at the mosque. We spent many long summer nights at the mosque in prayer, with kids taking breaks to play on the playground or shoot hoops. Each year we participated in interfaith Iftars and invited our non-Muslim friends to break- fast with us, this is slowly restarting.

To us Ramadan is a month rich with mindfulness, prayer, self-reflection and connection to God and others. It changes our schedule and we are definitely more tired and a bit slower, but also more joyful and grateful.