Ramadan celebrations around the world

Ramadan falls in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. For one lunar month, all healthy and able Muslims and Muslimahs are required to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sexual relations with their spouses from dawn until dusk. The Holy Qur'an was completed in the ninth month of the islamic calendar and fasting is the third pillar of Islam.

Fasting is observed as a means to cleanse the body and the soul as well as a motivation for charity (the fourth pillar of Islam).

In largely malay populated countries like Malaysia and Brunei, the month of ramadan is welcomed wholeheartedly. In Malaysia, a Ramadan Bazaar is set up for the duration of the holy month as are similar outdoor foodstalls in Brunei. Here a large assortment of local cuisine can be bought for cheap prices. Most interesting are the local sweets and cakes which are popular for the breaking of the fast. The Ramadan Bazaar in Malaysia has seating arrangements so fast can be broken there at the bazaar, whilst in Brunei many of the stalls sell food to be taken home.

Apart from the many benefits of the fasting, the breaking of fast is seen as a good way of bringing families together. Especially considering how large malay families can be. If all else fails, at least the first and last day of ramadan, families will make the effort to come together for the break of fast. Dinner tables are filled with food, dates, sweets and sweet drinks, while family members, young and old, gather around and chatter. There is a certain atmosphere that just is not present on any other family dinner and it is cherished, although more by the older generation than the younger, who have seem to lost this sense of family belongingness.

Following the breaking of fast, men and women move on to the mosques to perform the Terawih prayers. Some prefer to hold them in their own homes with their families. The terawih prayers are not obligatory.

Just before dusk, families awake to eat before the fast begins again.

Despite the joys of ramadan in these countries, fines are given to muslims who are caught eating or drinking in public places. Non-Muslims are not affected by these laws. However, many tourists hear otherwise and usually stay away from these countries during the month of ramadhan thus missing out the variety of food and sweets unique to these countries.

After one month of fasting, comes the month of syawal where the festival of eid mubarak is celebrated throughout the country, which is welcomed greatly after the one month of observing fast.

Happy RAMADAN.