Ramadan (Turkish:Ramazan) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and intimacy with their partners during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and compliance to God. Muslims fast for the sake of God and to offer more prayer than usual. Compared to the solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards by about eleven days each year depending on the moon; thus, a being will have fasted every day of the calendar year in 34 years' time. Muslims believe Ramadan to be a favorable month for the revelations of God to humankind, being the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were exposed to the Islamic clairvoyant, Muhammad.
Coming with the new moon, the festival marks the end of 'Ramadan' - a month when Muslims fast throughout the day and eat only at night Prayers, feast and family get- together are the major highlights of the celebrations. It was during this month that the holy Koran was revealed. Eid means recurring happiness or festivity. Eid is famous in India with much enthusiasm and fervor and Muslims from all strata of life can be seen adorned in beautiful new clothes, visiting the mosques to attend Salatul Eid (Eid prayers). Greetings of "Eid-Mubarak" or "a blessed Eid" are exchanged.
A very important aspect of eid is the charity, which all the Muslims are expected to extend to the needy. Earlier, this was in the form of gifts in kind but now cash is given to the needy. The first Eid of the year is known as "Eid Al Fitr". Al Fitr literally means contravention of fast. Thus Eid Al Fitr is celebrated on the first day of Shawaal, the tenth month in the Muslim calendar, to mark the end of a month long fast during the month of Ramadan. As the third "pillar" or spiritual obligation of Islam, fasting has many special benefits. Among these, the most important is that it is a means of learning self-control. Due to the lack of preoccupation with the satisfaction of bodily appetite during the daylight hours of fasting, a measure of dominance is given to one's spiritual nature, which becomes a means of coming closer to Allah. Ramadan is also a time of intense worship, reading of the Quran, purifying one's behavior, giving charity and doing virtuous deeds.
The secondary objective of fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and developing compassion for the less fortunate, and learns to be thankful and grateful for all of God's bounties. Fasting is also advantageous to the health and provides a break in the cycle of rigid habits.
Eid Al Fitr is a day of joy and thanksgiving. On this day, Muslims show their joy for the health, strength and opportunities of life, which Allah has given them to fulfill their obligation of fasting and other good deeds during the month of Ramadan. It is considered unholy to fast on this day. It is also a day of forgetting old grudge and ill feelings towards other fellow men. The second important Eid celebration is called "Eid Al-Adha".
Although only the pilgrims in Makkah can participate in the Hajj fully, all the other Muslims in the world join with them by celebrating Eid Al-Adha, or "Celebration of Sacrifice." On the 10th day of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims around the world rejoice this feast of commitment, compliance and self-sacrifice to Allah. They wear their nicest clothing and attend Salatul-Eid (Eid Prayer) in the morning. This is followed by a short sermon, after which everyone socializes. Next, people visit each other's homes and partake in festive meals with special dishes, beverages, and desserts. Children receive gifts and sweets on this happy time. In addition, like the pilgrims in Makkah, the Muslims, who can afford to do so, offer home animals, usually sheep, as a symbol of Ibrahim's sacrifice. The meat is dispersed for expenditure to family, friends, and to the poor and needy. Prayers are offered in mosques and Idgahs and complicated festivities are held.
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