Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Ramadan

Happy Ramadan!

I was born and raised in the US and to me Ramadan is just another normal month minus the fact that I'm fasting. I've been living in the Middle East for a couple years now and I'm still not used to the fact that everyone makes a really big deal out of Ramadan. I thought Ramadan is suppose to be about simplicity but it seems like people are going the complete opposite to simplicity. It's all about the food and where to eat, in a way it's like a statement to society as to where you go out during Ramadan.

I don't really understand why people would want to work less hours during Ramadan. I'm used to staying to a normal schedule because it keeps me busy and the day goes by faster. In other words, I don't sit around doing nothing and thinking about how hungry I am, but I guess some people like to just sleep through the day and stay up at night.

In no way am I meaning to offend anyone, I'm still getting used to things.

Happy Ramadan to everyone!

4 comments:

  1. Happy Ramadan To You :)

    its a HUGE deal in the arab world... and I'm not talking religion wise (which should be the case) but TV and night life wise :D


    Hope you have a nice month :)

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  2. :) Thanks!!

    I never realized how huge TV is during Ramadan and since I'm not really a TV person I feel so out of it during Ramadan..

    :) Happy Ramadan

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  3. It used to be a bigger deal a few decades ago - I feel Ramadan has become a little more lukewarm over the years, with a lot less celebration, and a lot more depressing TV. There's also a shift in how one should fast... Instead of simply abstaining from food and drink, and committing yourself to prayers and so on, things have become progressively stricter, with the occasional comment about how you dress, or whether you should be listening to music, creeping into conversation, and making you cringe. However, Ramadan is still alive in some areas - visiting older more traditional areas such as Sayeda Zeinab, or Bab El-Sharia during Ramadan brings one as close as possible to how Ramadan was celebrated a long time ago.

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  4. I feel like there are extremes with people during Ramadan...one being as you mentioned that take into account dress, music, gossiping, ect....the other being those that either don't fast and just pretend like they do but sneak the occasional cig. whenever possible or those that only abstain from eating and drinking but they do everything else under the sun as if it were just any other month...

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