One of the best things about A Bookish Little Christmas is that it celebrates all holidays, and not just Christmas! Today I’m welcoming my friend Angel (Avid Reader) to talk about Ramadan! I don’t know about you, but I’m a huge fan of learning about the holidays and customs of other cultures and religions, so I’m really excited for you to meet Angel and learn more about this holiday that is so close to her heart. Do you celebrate Ramadan, too?
Hello there! My name is Angel and I am a book blogger over at Avid Reader! No, I won’t be talking about books today as I have actually been invited by the lovely Jana to talk to you guys about Ramadan! I know, I know, you guys are probably thinking “why are you talking about Ramadan? It’s Christmas time and that’s not really a holiday!” Well, I’m here to talk about it because technically it is a holiday, though not in the traditional sense of getting school/work off. I’ll explain what exactly Ramadan is in a bit but, because it’s special, I consider it like a holiday. Anyways, this post is essentially gonna break down how I Ramadan as I answer frequently asked questions and share some of my fave foods to eat during Ramadan. Hope you enjoy and learn a little something! Before we start going through everything, I’d like to remind you guys that I am only one person and can’t represent the entirety of Islam…. Ok now let’s go:
What is Ramadan? What do you do in Ramadan?
Well in the simplest of terms, Ramadan is basically the holy, obligatory month of fasting for all Muslims around the world. The specific timing of it changes every year if you’re looking at the Gregorian calendar (aka the January – December calendar). In actuality though, it’s always the same month in the Islamic year and that month is called Ramadan (I wonder why….lol).
So, uh, how long do you fast? What is fasting?
The length of hours of when a Muslim fasts depends on where you are in the world but you also fast in between sunrise and sunset. This past Ramadan, I fasted for about 16 hours and 25 mins per day. During the time of the fasting, you are not allowed to have any food or water and yes, that even means no water. You’re also not allowed to have sexual intercourse which, considering I’m nowhere near married, means nothing to me….
Is there anything else?
Yup! There are levels to fasting actually. Not eating, drinking and having sex is the first bar. The second bar is abstaining from saying, hearing, seeing, touching or doing anything bad. Some examples are: dressing modestly, not saying curse words, not watching anything bad *cough like Game of Thrones cough* ……That’s the level I’m at right now. I already dress pretty modestly, I don’t swear and don’t touch anything I shouldn’t (like wine or pork). The only thing I had to change was not listening or watching anything that included things that included excessive swearing/steamy scenes. Now the third level is the like ultimate level and it’s that you pretty much think of nothing except God. I’m not totally sure how far that goes but it’s typically scholars who get to that level so I say ask the internet AND the Imam in a nearby mosque what that third level means…
And that’s it for the questions! If y’all have any more questions, feel free to tweet/DM me! If I don’t know the answer, I’ll send you to someone or something who can hopefully help you. I also suggest you discuss any questions you may have about Islam with someone in a mosque or look it up in the Quran. Now to talk about my fave foods to eat during the month of Ramadan….
• Mushroom soup with garlic sprinkled on top
• Lamb, potatoes, carrots and rice
• Koshari – rice, lentils, macaroni, fried onions and a special kind of marinara-like sauce
• Goulash (the Middle Eastern version) – layers of filo bread with at least one layer of ground beef or spinach cooked in the middle
*wipes off drool from just thinking about the list of food* And that’s it for the food faves portion! I’m sorry I have no actual recipes for goulash but it seems everyone on the internet and their mother only post American or Hungarian versions/recipes of goulash that aren’t actually variations of what I know as goulash.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed my post and learned at least one thing new, even if it is an awesome food you should try! Thank you to Jana for hosting me on her blog and letting me talk to you guys about how I Ramadan and thank YOU person who is reading this right now for checking out this post! I hope you all have a great day/night and tata for now!
~ Angel, Avid Reader
If you want to see/hear more from me, check out my Find Me page and follow me on the social media listed there! See you!
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