Celebrating the Ramadan Holiday

Събота, 27-ми септември, 2008

SPOT 1: Eid ul-Fitr, or the Ramadan Holiday as it is popularly called, has been a special occasion for over 1400 years and crowns the month of Ramadan for Muslims SPOT2: The holiday is celebrated throughout the Muslim community world wide and brings together all in the shared celebrations. It reinforces the feeling that Muslims are part of a universal community GÜL DEMIR and NIKI GAMM ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News

Nine whole days - just incredible in a world in economic crisis! Yet that's what fallen to the lot of people in Turkey this year although one can be sure that the people caught up in the crisis in banks and insurance companies around the world could use that time off. Perhaps it's a good thing though on second thought because it will certainly improve Turkey's tourism revenue even if it's only local. What used to be a traditional religious holiday has become an excuse for a vacation for many people.The holiday began many centuries ago and only two years after the Hegira when the Prophet Mohammed went to Medina, as a means of celebrating the end of a month of fasting, announced by sighting the new moon. This holiday is considered the lesser of two big ones. The greater one is the Sacrifice Holiday or Kurban Bayram during the first half of December this year. The Arabic term for the first day of the holiday is Eid ul-Fitr and means the Festival of Breaking the Fast. The breaking of the Fast is essentially breakfast but in daylight this time. Technically the “Festival” runs from sunset on the last day of Ramadan for three days until sunset on the third day. So the day leading up to the start of the holiday is only a half day for offices and banks so people who need to shop are free to do so. As it falls on a Monday this year, it's no wonder that the Turkish government has declared the whole of Monday part of the holiday. It should end Thursday evening but the government also saw fit to declare Friday a day off as well. Better than having a bunch of disgruntled employees hanging around for a few hours wishing themselves elsewhere.The holiday is celebrated throughout the Muslim community world wide and brings together all in the shared celebrations. It reinforces the feeling that Muslims are part of a universal community and everybody is enjoined to carry out three duties during the holiday. One is to give alms (one-fortieth of one's income); to make peace with and visit each other; and to visit the graves of relatives.

The first day of the Festival in Turkey

Basically the day starts with a shower or bath although in the days before homes had indoor plumbing, it would mean a trip to the hamam. Then new clothes and shoes are put on or at least newly cleaned clothes. A father will consider it a great shame if he can't even afford new shoes for his son. After a light breakfast, the men are off to the mosque to pray. Then home again greeting any friends or neighbors met on the street and then the visits begin, including perhaps a visit to the cemetery to pray over the graves of departed loved ones. People go to kiss the hand of the eldest member of the family so too do politicians go to kiss the party leader's hand or the top management would go to the company owner. Where it's a relative, first in line are oldest male on the male side. Only after the male side is completed does the female side come into play. The children all dressed up in their new clothes are cut, preening themselves and looking for compliments even as they kiss their elders' hands. The elders in turn would kiss the children's faces and eyes and express the wish that Allah would grant them long years.Children meanwhile scour their neighborhoods, going from door to door in theory to wish people ‘Happy Holiday' but in actuality to receive candy or even better money. Pocket money for the week that they get to keep and spend on whatever they want. In spite of that the candy and chocolate makers are going to have happy smiles on their faces. For instance Ulker's Godiva chocolate, a world-renowned, up-scale candy is all set for the onslaught of buyers as the holiday approaches. But woe betide the person who has forgotten to buy candy and didn't make it to the bank for small change. It wouldn't be the first time that someone has hidden at home out of embarrassment at not having anything to offer children.In fact shopping for presents and sweets turns the days before the holiday into a real expedition. For the middle class that usually meant a visit to the many clothing stores on Mahmutpaşa, a street that extends down hill from the Covered Bazaar to practically the Spice Bazaar. Less well-off people would take their chances on the noisy, crowded, colorful street vendors at the “bazaar” that occupied the open areas around Yeni Camii until the municipality decided to eliminate this long-time tradition. Of course one shouldn't forget the baklava and other candies from Hacı Bekir, the only store in Istanbul that can boast of having carried out its business from the same location for more than 200 years.The servants, the janitors and even the postmen and garbage men expect a certain amount of money as a reward for their faithful services. And as you sit visiting, the sound of the drums comes from the streets. The drummers ring all the doorbells in each building hoping that their zealous efforts to get you up at 3:30 am to eat breakfast were worth a reward. But this is a tricky business because most people don't get up to actually see who this walking alarm clock is; anyone with a drum could claim to be the real drummer and sometimes do. Customs are slowly changing in Turkey to some extent because of economic conditions. People can't afford what they used to and some aren't inclined to be as generous with their alms giving as they once were. And at least in the big cities families are moving apart. But everybody is still ready to celebrate the holiday, nine days of vacation.Do you suppose Kurban Bayram in December will also be a nine-day holiday?

Ramadan in 1918 Saudi Arabia

“Just before sunset… there was a great concourse of people assembled on the housetops craning their necks in the direction of the jagged tip of Tuwaiq set off by a sunset of unusual splendor. Many of the crowd were women, who are credited with keener sight than men… and as luck would have it a band of wispy clouds lay over the moon's position throughout those critical moments… As the darkness gathered about us it was clear that the moon was not to be seen that night, and disappointed figures crept down from their roofs to break the fast which was to be endured for another day.” At 2 A.M., however, gunshots suddenly announced the end of Ramadan. “Some Bedouin… had come in post-haste to report that they had seen the crescent of the new moon and an ecclesiastical court had accepted their evidence.”

**H. St. J.B. Philby in 1918 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as quoted in Muhammadan Festivals by G. E. von Grunebaum.

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