Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is mostly observed by Muslims. It is believed that the Qur’an, or the holy book of Islam, was sent down from heaven to Earth to the Holy Prophet of Islam. 

My family and I celebrate Ramadan, it’s one of the few holidays we celebrate. Each year Ramadan falls on different dates. In 2024 it started mid-March and ended in early April. This year it started in the beginning of March, and is supposed to end on April 1st.

It is one of the most sacred times for Muslims as we fast– meaning we won’t eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset everyday for a month. Ramadan is about more than just breaking our fast at sunset; it also involves fasting (sawn), Prayer (salah), selflessness and giving to those in need. 

During Ramadan, many Muslims go to the mosque, including my family, and spend several hours praying. In addition to the five daily prayers that are part of the five pillars of Islam, Muslims recite a special prayer called the Taraweeh prayer (night prayer). My family goes for Taraweeh prayer all together, but us kids sometimes miss it and my parents just go without us.

On the 14th day of Ramadan Muslims observe a day called Garangao. It is like Halloween but for Muslims people give nuts and sweets to the children. People would dress up and go around people’s houses to get nuts and sweets. 

My mom would dress me and my siblings up and we would go over to a family’s house and we along with their kids and we would all go house to house to fill up our bags with sweets and nuts and sometimes if we were lucky we would even get money from them. 

I remember one particular house would always go all out for Garangao. When we would go there they had an ice cream machine, cotton candy machine, and even a popcorn machine. I was really shocked that day and had asked my cousin if this was normal and she said yes it is.

 On the evening of the 27th day of Ramadan, we observe a special night called Layat al-Qadr, referred to as the Night of Power. It is said to be in the last 10 days of Ramadan by the companions of the Prophet. It is believed that the Holy Prophet first received the Holy Qur’an on this night.

As long as I can remember my family and I have always sat together in front of the television waiting for them to shoot the cannon, or my dad would open the window to listen to the Adhan (call for prayer).

For as far as I can recall, I’ve always seen my dad open his fast with a date in his hand, and then he would drink a special drink made by my mom called rooh afza, or as he calls it sharbat.

 I remember my mom waking me and my siblings up for school and then we’d go into the kitchen to make iftar. We’d come back home from school, and she would still be in the kitchen. She would then come out about an hour before iftar.

At the end of Ramadan, we celebrate Eid al-Fitr after a long month of fasting from dusk to dawn. This is a day in which we decorate our house, dress up, go to the mosque for the morning prayer and invite family and friends over to talk and have fun.

My dad and my brothers pull an all-nighter just for this prayer, they get ready and then they leave, while my mom and my sister just fall asleep. 

Then when it’s around the evening we get ready. We’re rushing to look our best for photos that we need to send for the family. My mom would spend the morning trying to look for a location for our photos and in the end we would go to a park. 

Ramadan is something we Muslims celebrate, but we all celebrate it in a different way. Ramadan is about making the right intentions and seeing how our life changes for the better.