Ramadan

This weekend marks Eid, the Muslim holiday commemorating the end of Ramadan. The anticipation that came with Eid felt similar to the Christmas season back in the States. It is a huge holiday here, where people often spend great lengths of time visiting family and taking trips around the region. As our group arrived in Jordan about a week after Ramadan began, we only know Amman as it is during the month of Ramadan, a quite, not quite- like- itself city. As the fireworks began yesterday morning, I felt excitement building within me, anticipating being able to live in Amman when it is its normal bustling, busy community, alive with storefronts open and people out during the day.

Allow me to explain a little for those of you not-so-familiar with Ramadan. Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and it is observed through a month of fasting, restraining from drinking, eating, smoking, and sexual relations, from dawn until dusk. Observing Ramadan is believed to be a commandment from God and required by all Muslims, exceptions being made for the ill, those traveling, the very young, and the elderly. It is seen as a time to concentrate on prayer and worship, to discipline the mind and body, and to make resolutions concerning ones’ relationship with God. It is a time to be able to focus more on God, increasing time in prayer, without the regular daily distractions.

Families will wake up early, early each morning [3am-ish] in order to eat a meal to prepare for the day of fasting. Then around 4:40ish the call to pray begins, marking the beginning of the fast at the first sight of sunlight. People then go back to sleep for a few hours, making our daily morning walks to school feel similar to an old western movie ghost town, as we were the only ones walking around at 7:45am.

Throughout the day, it is illegal to eat, drink, or smoke in public. Even Christians and foreigners will risk being reprimanded if caught doing these acts in public. It is seen as a sign of respect to restrain from these activities. Besides the limited restaurants that carry a “tourist license” most businesses have very, very limited hours, often only opening up a few hours a day. In Jordan specifically, most businesses are closed during the day, opening up only after people have completed iftar and their evening prayers.

In the crazy heat that Amman has been experiencing, I can imagine it is tough for Muslims to go all day without drinking or eating. On top of that, many are probably sleep deprived due to the altered sleep schedules to accompany the iftar celebrations and regular business that happens during the night. This causes on-edge taxi drivers, and terrible traffic, as people are more impatient then normal.

All afternoon women are in the kitchens, preparing the evening meal. Around 6:30ish [just before sun down] the streets become deserted as everyone, including all the taxi drivers, head home to prepare for the evening prayers and meal. The fast is broken [iftar] by a series of prayers and a feast with family and friends. The local Mosques will read a portion of the Quran each evening, reading the entire Quran within the month. Iftar looks different depending on what part of Amman you live in, but it is always a time a celebration. The streets are buzzing with activity as people visit friends & family, go to work, run errands [most offices and businesses are open in the middle of the night, i.e. banks], and kids play games in the streets. There is a ton of celebrating all night long…and although I am a very deep sleeper, I’ve heard from my flat mates that there is a ton of very loud socializing outside our windows all night.

About a week ago, we went up to the roof to grab our dry laundry from the clotheslines and we were invited by the hotel staff to join them at their iftar celebration. Since we’ve been living here for the past few weeks, we become familiar with many employees, often stopping to talk with them, practicing our Arabic. It was quite the celebration! The food was abundant and very delicious [zac-key]! We really enjoyed talking with some of the guys and learning a little about their lives. I love stories, partially hearing bits and pieces of people’s life stories. It was great to be able to observe the celebration and to feel so welcomed by people who barely know us. As I’ve prepared to come to Jordan over the past months, I’ve heard in detail how hospitable this culture is; but I think I have only skimmed the service of what I’ll be experiencing this year, especially once I’m immersed in the community in Irbid. I move to Irbid in a week! Please pray for my last week in Amman, that it will be filled with more good language learning and great fellowship within MCC staff.