Ramadan is my favorite time of year
A Muslim teen explains her celebration of Ramadan.
“My parents moved to the U.S. from Turkey way before I was born. When they got here, they realized how little they knew about their religion, Islam, and how much they wanted to know. They learned more about Islam and raised my four older brothers and me as practicing, believing Muslims.
By now, I have grown to cherish my religion. I always enjoyed being a Muslim, but I thought of it as mere rituals. During Ramadan, the month of fasting, I used to fast with everyone in public. But secretly I would hide the nicest chocolates we had, the ones we used to save for company, and eat them in the bathroom. You can imagine how many trips I made to the bathroom during Ramadan!
Ramadan is the month when the Qu’ran (Islam’s holy book) was first revealed to the prophet Muhammed. The night the revelations begin is called Leyla’tul’kadr, the Night of Power. (This is what my name comes from.) Hence, Muslims try to read a chapter of the Qu’ran every night in Ramadan, and to make this a habit which will continue throughout the year. This year, it started in mid-December and ended in mid-January.
Ramadan is a time for Muslims to strive to make themselves better people. (This is the actual definition of jihad, NOT “holy war.”) People focus on developing values of kindness, patience and generosity. It is a time for self-improvement and self-control. It is a chance for us to feel how people less fortunate must feel. It is a chance for Muslims to recharge their spiritual and emotional batteries.
What is Ramadan actually like?
So what’s it like to actually do all this stuff? Seeing as Ramadan is my favorite time of year, it is great. I spend most of my fasting hours at school. I go to the library at lunch time and do my homework there. This way I can avoid seeing (and wanting) people’s lunches. After school, I go home and take a nap. By the time I wake up, the fast is almost over. Each of my family members comes home by 4:30 p.m. at the latest. We all prepare dinner and break our fasts together. Sometimes we go to the mosque for extra prayers known as Taraweeh. Whenever I go, there is always someone there whom I haven’t seen in months.
At the end of the month, there is a celebration called Eid. This year, it was on January 19. A couple of weeks before Eid, my parents distribute money to my brothers and myself to buy new clothes to wear on Eid. Most people do the same, so on Eid, everyone is decked out from head to toe in new clothes, shoes and socks. Also a few weeks before Eid, my family draws names for our Eid gift exchange. A couple of days before Eid, after breaking our fast, praying and acrobatic displays (what would you expect from four boys—my brothers?) we have our Opening Ceremonies. My dad can never resist buying gifts for all of us—gifts for fun and convenience. (One year he gave me a huge box of goodies, including a tube of toothpaste I had asked for earlier.)
On Eid, my family wakes up super early to help our mosque set up for morning prayers. Usually around 10,000 people come, and I end up seeing all the Muslims I know. Everyone distributes greetings, gifts, hugs and kisses. Afterwards, we go to each other’s houses for breakfast, lunch, dinner and anything in between.
This year, Eid was a little different than usual. My family woke up and went for prayers, as always. Afterwards we went to New Horizon School, an Islamic school where my mother works. They just finished building their Middle School, so they had a big party to celebrate the grand opening and Eid at the same time. This was especially fun, because there were so many people there that I didn’t get to talk to at the prayers. After eating, talking and giving gifts, my parents, my grandmother and I went home to take naps—we wanted to be ready for our next party. When we woke up, we went to someone’s house for a great big Eid bash! We ate great food and mingled with even more people. At the end of the day, I went home absolutely exhausted and ecstatic. It was a perfect end to a perfect month.”