It is first of August and Ramadan starts today here in the UAE. All the shopping malls are decorated you can buy all kinds of dates and it’s almost feels like Christmas. I am very excited to experience this holyday though I’m not in plan giving up food or drink during the day!
So Ramadan is the ninth month of the year according to the Islam calendar, which is Lunar based. It is time of forgiveness, blessings, mercy, devotion, heritage, sacrifice and charity. It is like our Christmas days just much longer. People are already nicer here compared to Europe and yesterday I could see myself that they are even more polite now. During the day people are not allowed to eat or drink except women who have their period, pregnant , ill, sick, too old or young, or traveling more than 50 miles. Also if you can't keep your fasting you need to make it good with donations or other forms of charity. They say it is a good experience to feel the pain of less fortunate people for whom hunger is an everyday problem. It makes them appreciate their wealth. A month fasting supposed to be healthy but it is very questionable.
So how does it look like in every day practice? They pray a lot even in the supermarket they play the Koran. They are not allowed to eat or drink from sunrise till sunset. The fast breaker in the evening called iftar is the dinner, but even before this they need to go to pray. They must start this with eating uneven number of dates and drink water, thee, coffee or milk. After comes the delicious home cooking and baking. They receive and visit family and friends during the month. So it is very festive every day. Before the Sun comes up they can have sahoor which is the breakfast.
For non-Muslims there are many possibilities to eat but the restaurant windows are covered so you cannot see inside. Dos and don'ts in this period:
- Dress correct. Cover your shoulders and knees and give a break to your tank tops.
- Don’t dress or sing in public and keep the volume down during the day.
- Don’t swear.
- Don’t smoke, chew gum eat or drink in public between sunrise and sunset.
That’s all! I don’t think that this is difficult.
What are the good things in Ramadan? The prices are down, there are sales everywhere. You get special offers on almost everything. There are iftar and sahoor buffets and tents in every hotel and you can learn all about Arabian food and tradition. What a pity that I am not a shopaholic!
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