How it starts:
* To begin, we/the Mosques spot the crescent moon to mark the beginning of a new lunar month- the ninth one (This month is called Ramadan in Arabic)

The fast:
*We fast every day for the 29 or 30 days; The fast is from dawn to dusk
* When you see our lights on at ~4:00am, we are just having our wholesome morning meal that will get us through the day
* During the fast, we refrain from eating, drinking, and intimacy
*We break our fast, precise to the minute, at dusk, with a scrumptious date, milk, glass of water, fruits and other delicacies (yum!) . We follow it up with a full meal

The nights:
* At night when our stomachs are full and our thirst is quenched, we crave to just connect with God. We do that by reading His book (Quran) or by just talking to Him.
* We eagerly seek His forgiveness. We tell him about our joys and our sorrows.

The charity:
* If we can afford to, we are required to donate 2.5% of our savings to charity before the end of this month. This puts us at ease to know that the needy amongst us can also celebrate Eid with us!

The celebration:
*The end of Ramadan is marked by the sighting of a new moon. The celebration is called 'Eid'- a day that starts with communal prayers, followed by family gatherings, feasts, gift exchanges, all in the loveliest of clothing and clean fragrant homes. We reluctantly say goodbye to Ramadan, but only to wholeheartedly do it all over again next year!

----------------------------------------------

 Checkout our Ramadan Fact Cards   to share the who what where when why of Ramadan.