I am a public school teacher in the United States. I teach young children and I am interested in learning more about Islam. I have had students who are Islamic and I would like to learn more about this religion so that I might better help my students learn. I believe that when children have the opportunity to share their home life, including holidays, traditions and cultural beliefs with their classmates, they are happier, more connected to the classroom and they can learn with a sense of safety.
I joined this site hoping to learn and also because I had two five year old students last year who are just, or have just, celebrated a major holiday with their families and I wanted to send them each a greeting card. I did not know if it was appropriate to send a card for Ramadan, or for the end of Ramadan.
During the summer, I write back and forth with my students (via snail mail) and I try to acknowledge all major holidays that my students celebrate. This year, (I was told) Ramadan did not happen during the school year. Where some years, we have parents who send in special foods, share special clothing or share traditions with our class, this year, I did not get to connect with my Islamic families in this way. One mom did bring in crescent shaped cookies for snack and her son shared about getting new clothing for a holiday but as it did not coincide with the actual holiday, I felt like these two kids missed out somehow.
In summary, is it appropriate for me to send a greeting at Ramadan? If so, is there anything specific that I need to know about Ramadan? Is the timing important... am I too late?
Ramadan is the month of fasting. During this month, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, abstaining from food, drink, marital relations, and also bad behavior. At the call for prayer after sunset, Muslims break their fast. The month of Ramadan starts and finishes with the sighting of the crescent moon. The day after Ramadan ends (the first day of the new month) is the Eid holiday. On this day, Muslims wear new clothes and visit relatives, exchange gifts, go for picnics or outings, cook tradition foods, etc. But the first thing done is going for the Eid prayer in the mosque right after the sun rises. All Muslims do that since it's compulsary. In the Mosque Muslims recite the beautiful melodious "takbeerat" and the pray in congregation. Then the imam gives a short sermon. after the sermon, the muslims in the mosque greet each other with eid greetings, hug each other or shake hands depending on their cultural traditions. Some people distribute sweets and candies. Here in the Arab world, chocolate candies are a favorite of all. In shops these delicious sweets are sold by the kilos and people buy them for present to guests and to give as presents. If given as gifts, they are presented in gift baskets such as:
How people celebrate Eid and what kind of clothes they wear and what kinds of food they eat depends on their cultural traditions.
I guess they are missing out on the 'festive holidays' but it is the same everywhere in the world where islam is not accepted as a major religion that warrants a holiday to celebrate the day(s).
What makes it slightly difficult is the fact that the islamic calendar is based on the lunar year as opposed to the solar year, hence the muslim calendar is a few days shorter than the solar year. so over time, we get to celebrate the day at different times of the year, (not limited to a fixed moment).
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A teacher who needs guidance...
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