Ramadan

[Anonymous]

I was curious about all the traffic at a mosque I drive by today. Google reports it's the beginning of Ramadan.

Is this a happy holiday? Do people wish other people a happy Ramadan? Are there celebrations?

I read about the fasting and self renewing efforts. I'm just curious about it all.

[Anonymous]

There are lot's of cars because it's Friday. Friday is their go to the mosque prayer day. Like church on Sunday.

Ramadan begins at the end of this month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was curious about all the traffic at a mosque I drive by today. Google reports it's the beginning of Ramadan.

Is this a happy holiday? Do people wish other people a happy Ramadan? Are there celebrations?

I read about the fasting and self renewing efforts. I'm just curious about it all.

Ramadan lasts for a month. There is celebrating at the end of it - that's called Eid.

[Anonymous]

Happy Ramadan is an appropriate wish. You can get greeting cards for it in some locations.

[Anonymous]

June 28 or 29. Very happy month of fasting during the day, and breaking the fast together with family and friends after sunset. Happy Ramadan is perfect. At the end, you can say Happy Eid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:June 28 or 29. Very happy month of fasting during the day, and breaking the fast together with family and friends after sunset. Happy Ramadan is perfect. At the end, you can say Happy Eid.

Ok.

Take this as a non-snark post.

If Ramadan is in the summer, and its purpose is atonement, and Eid is the celebration at the end of the fast, also in the summer, then why was the media and the PC folks so strongly pushing "Happy Ramadan" during the Hannukah and Christmas holiday season?

Isn't wishing Happy Ramadan the equivalent to wishing someone Happy Lent? Makes no sense as the religious part of the holiday is of a serious, introspective nature and not at all celebratory.

Wouldn't the better greeting be "Happy Eid" and reserved for after Ramadan? At least that is what my Pakistani neighbor told me...that Eid is the "happy" part NOT Ramadan.

And don't muslims feel like it is weird and disengnuous for the whole lumping Ramadan, Hannukah and Christmas altogether as one big happy winter holiday, especially since it occurs during the summer months?

[Anonymous]

Oh, it's next week? There was a website that said it started on the 20th.

I appreciate the info.

[Anonymous]

^^^^

PLEASE know there is no snark meant.

These are just questions that I have wondered for some time but never wanted to ask. In fact, I have wondered this ever since I moved to this area and surprisingly discovered that Ramadan occurs in the summer and not during the Christmas season as the PC movement made it sound.

[Anonymous]

I never hear "Happy Ramadan" during the December holiday season. Perhaps you're thinking of Diwali?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:June 28 or 29. Very happy month of fasting during the day, and breaking the fast together with family and friends after sunset. Happy Ramadan is perfect. At the end, you can say Happy Eid.

Ok.

Take this as a non-snark post.

If Ramadan is in the summer, and its purpose is atonement, and Eid is the celebration at the end of the fast, also in the summer, then why was the media and the PC folks so strongly pushing "Happy Ramadan" during the Hannukah and Christmas holiday season?

Isn't wishing Happy Ramadan the equivalent to wishing someone Happy Lent? Makes no sense as the religious part of the holiday is of a serious, introspective nature and not at all celebratory.

Wouldn't the better greeting be "Happy Eid" and reserved for after Ramadan? At least that is what my Pakistani neighbor told me...that Eid is the "happy" part NOT Ramadan.

And don't muslims feel like it is weird and disengnuous for the whole lumping Ramadan, Hannukah and Christmas altogether as one big happy winter holiday, especially since it occurs during the summer months?

Ramadan moves. I'm always happen when it is in the summer as my Muslim students were usually too hungry to focus when it falls during the school year.

[Anonymous]

dates of events in the Islamic lunar year "move forward" about 11 days every year. For example, in 1995 Ramadan began on February 1, and in 1996, it began on January 22.

http://www.soundvision.com/info/ramadan/r.school.asp

[Anonymous]

Ramadan isn't a fixed date like Christmas -- more like Easter, it fluctuates throughout the year. It is based on the Islamic lunar calendar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:June 28 or 29. Very happy month of fasting during the day, and breaking the fast together with family and friends after sunset. Happy Ramadan is perfect. At the end, you can say Happy Eid.

Ok.

Take this as a non-snark post.

If Ramadan is in the summer, and its purpose is atonement, and Eid is the celebration at the end of the fast, also in the summer, then why was the media and the PC folks so strongly pushing "Happy Ramadan" during the Hannukah and Christmas holiday season?

Isn't wishing Happy Ramadan the equivalent to wishing someone Happy Lent? Makes no sense as the religious part of the holiday is of a serious, introspective nature and not at all celebratory.

Wouldn't the better greeting be "Happy Eid" and reserved for after Ramadan? At least that is what my Pakistani neighbor told me...that Eid is the "happy" part NOT Ramadan.

And don't muslims feel like it is weird and disengnuous for the whole lumping Ramadan, Hannukah and Christmas altogether as one big happy winter holiday, especially since it occurs during the summer months?

Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar. As such, it moves up earlier in the calendar about 2 weeks every year. Ramadan hasn't been in December(ish) for around a decade, so at that time, you may have seen "Happy Ramadan" messages on TV like you saw similar Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, etc.

And yes, Happy Eid (at the end of Ramadan - although there is another Eid that celebrates something different) is apropos. As for why the greetings at certain times, well, it's kind of like how Christmas season starts immediately after Thanksgiving (if not earlier). Early greetings and well-wishes are better early, than late/never.

Muslims don't care about lumping anything together, especially because they know the holiday changes depending on the year. It's just general niceness to acknowledge everyone in their appropriate times (which for Muslims, can be in the summer or winter depending on the year)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never hear "Happy Ramadan" during the December holiday season. Perhaps you're thinking of Diwali?

No.

When I was in college and as a young adult and the whole PC movement was setting in there was a whole movement of either not wishing Merry Christmas/Happy Hannukah without including Happy Ramadan. I remember lots of discussion about this.

Perhaps since Ramadan moves that time just happened to have Ramadan falling around those other holidays.

It was around the time of the Seinfeld Festivus for the Restuvus episode

This was mine and many others first introduction to Ramadan, and until I moved to this area I had no idea it did jot occur in the middle of the Christmas/Hannukah season.

I bet if you took a survey there is a significant number of people in my age group who did not grow up around muslims who do indeed believe that Ramadan is a holiday that buts upto Christmas. I can't tell you how many people who have come up to me after moving to this area and said "Huh. Who knew? Ramadan is in the summer."

I would also bet there is a very large number about 10-25 years older than me who will argue until their faces turn blue that Ramadan is a winter holiday.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, last poster.

Very informative.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:June 28 or 29. Very happy month of fasting during the day, and breaking the fast together with family and friends after sunset. Happy Ramadan is perfect. At the end, you can say Happy Eid.

Ok.

Take this as a non-snark post.

If Ramadan is in the summer, and its purpose is atonement, and Eid is the celebration at the end of the fast, also in the summer, then why was the media and the PC folks so strongly pushing "Happy Ramadan" during the Hannukah and Christmas holiday season?

Isn't wishing Happy Ramadan the equivalent to wishing someone Happy Lent? Makes no sense as the religious part of the holiday is of a serious, introspective nature and not at all celebratory.

Wouldn't the better greeting be "Happy Eid" and reserved for after Ramadan? At least that is what my Pakistani neighbor told me...that Eid is the "happy" part NOT Ramadan.

And don't muslims feel like it is weird and disengnuous for the whole lumping Ramadan, Hannukah and Christmas altogether as one big happy winter holiday, especially since it occurs during the summer months?

Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar. As such, it moves up earlier in the calendar about 2 weeks every year. Ramadan hasn't been in December(ish) for around a decade, so at that time, you may have seen "Happy Ramadan" messages on TV like you saw similar Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, etc.

And yes, Happy Eid (at the end of Ramadan - although there is another Eid that celebrates something different) is apropos. As for why the greetings at certain times, well, it's kind of like how Christmas season starts immediately after Thanksgiving (if not earlier). Early greetings and well-wishes are better early, than late/never.

Muslims don't care about lumping anything together, especially because they know the holiday changes depending on the year. It's just general niceness to acknowledge everyone in their appropriate times (which for Muslims, can be in the summer or winter depending on the year)