Ramadan

This article was in the Jordan Times today. Before I came here, I knew a little about Ramadan, but not much. People fast from sunrise to sunset for a month and eat a big meal to break the fast. That was about it. However, there is so much more to the holiday; I thought that this article might give a small glimpse of that.

http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=2171

I spent a while with my classmate and her cousin last night, sitting out on the patio overlooking the outskirts of Amman as the sun set. We talked a lot about Ramadan- I felt comfortable asking questions about it and they were very obliging in answering. I still had this idea (as of last night) that children would be resistent to fasting (since why would one want to give up food?). However, I learned that often little kids want to fast because it's what they see everybody else doing and they want to be included. My friend and her cousin were laughing as they told me about how a lot of little kids will say, "I am fasting!" and really try to, but then sneak into the kitchen and stealthily grab a cookie. Their parents understand this and, when the little kids feel genuinely bad for breaking their fast, say (in so many words), "it's really okay- you tried. God forgives you- don't be upset. It's really okay!" My friend's cousin was saying that it is important to ease children into fasting though over the course of a few Ramadans. For example, the first year, the child might fast only until noon (so no morning snack). The next year, he might just fast on weekends. The third year, he might eat only at school (as well as the big meals with the family at night)- no snacking at home. There's so much more to the culture surrounding Ramadan than I had imagined.

My roommate and I are planning on going grocery shopping after class. Perhaps we will also stop by the sweets shop and pick up some qatayef, then go by the coffee shop and get some ground Turkish coffee. I'm excited about Iftar already.