Most students countdown to Christmas break. They get time away from school, spend time with their families and receive presents. However, some students forget about their other peers who don’t celebrate Christmas. For them, it’s just another break. 

A lot of these students do, however, celebrate another holiday that starts during March and  lasts through April. This is called Ramadan. Ramadan is a month of fasting, worship, service, communal gathering, and spiritual development. Fasting in Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. To go along with Ramadan Muslim, students celebrate Eid, which commemorates the end of the holy month of Ramadan. 

During Ramadan, Muslims are fasting from dawn until sunset. They aren’t supposed to drink water or eat throughout the day. However, these aren’t the only things that Muslims abstain from during this period, Ramadan is a time of worship and gaining a stronger connection to God. During this month-long fast, they are also abstaining from sinful language and behavior. 

Some Muslim students have expressed that it can be difficult to fast during school hours. “It’s easier to fast at home because everyone else is also fasting but at school there’s food all around you,” senior Ahmad Kameel said. Another part of Ramadan is waking up before sunrise and making sure to get nutritious meals. This is called suhoor. “Sometimes you feel like you even want to eat and sometimes it’s hard but it’s important you do before school,” said student Bibi-Safeeya Salim.

These little struggles at school help these students with their deen ( righteous action ). Even though Ramadan can be difficult, it is all a part of Muslims’ spiritual journey and their way of building a stronger relationship with Allah.

Eid al-fitr marks the end of the month-long fast; it is celebrated during the first three days of the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. Eid is celebrated by a large community prayer: There are two times for prayer at 6:30 a.m. and one at 9 a.m. These prayers are usually held at convention centers. After prayer, they go back to the elder’s house, and at the elder’s house usually the kids get money from the elder’s and are told “Eid Mubarak” which means blessed feast/festival. Another part of Eid includes the clothing. Adults and children get dressed up in their best clothing and while there is so mandated attire most common clothing is inherent to their culture. 

Many Muslim studnet’s take Eid off from school to commemorate their fast, spend family time and take time to worship Allah. In countries with large Muslim populations, it is normally a public holiday with most schools and businesses closed for the day, just like how American schools have Christmas off from school.