Ramadan - the Holy Month

While Kosovo describes itself as as secular society, many of its people are religious. About 95 percent identify themselves as Muslims. The number that practice Islam is much smaller, maybe less than 20 percent. That is except during Ramadan - the Holy Month.

Ramadan is the holiest month for Muslims. It is the ninth month in the Muslim lunar calendar. Healthy adult Muslims fast in Ramadan from dawn until dusk. This includes abstaining from drinking, eating, immoral acts and anger. Other acts of worship such as prayer, reading the Quran and charity are also encouraged during the holy month. Charitable contributions are often given to the Imam for distribution.

Young musicians make money by playing along the streets of Pristina to announce the end of fast. 

 Every year, while Muslims around the world fast during daylight hours, they eat and celebrate during the night. The effect on productivity and health may be devastating. While intermittent fasting may be good for health, Ramadan turns the eating patterns of participants upside down. While participants may fast during the daytime, Muslims wake up early to eat a pre-dawn meal called suhoor, and they break their fast with a meal referred to as iftar. Sleep patterns are also disturbed.

In the Mideast, daytime hours are consistently about 12 hours. Farther north or south the times vary so that in Kosovo on May  18, 2019 day time is 14 hours and 42 minutes. Sunrise is at 5:10 a.m. and sunset is 7:53 p.m. In Oslo or Edmonton, daylight hours are much longer. 

As an outsider, a real benefit I see is the opportunity for adults to become reacquainted with friends and family. Adherents of Ramadan often go out at night to eat with friends or invite friends to their homes. Restaurants are crowded in time to break fast in the evening. Many open at 2 a.m. to offer a pre-dawn meal. A drum rolls and adherents begin their meals at night with water and then dates. We were invited for the evening meal at the Sharrit Restaurant above Tetova in Macedonia. Amazingly, every guest had food on their tables, a lovely soup and cheese sauces with bread. We all began to eat at the same time. A downside may be that children are neglected while parents celebrate. Several times a week we have been feeding two teenagers whose parents are often away at night. One is fasting; the other is not.

Read more about Ramadan at https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/ramadan-2019-important-muslims-190505145156499.html