the fun of ramadan and eid
Nov. 22nd, 2003 03:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jdmkleinOne of the most interesting and frustrating times to be in Kuwait is just before one of the three main religious celebrations of the muslim faith, Ramandan, and the first Eid. Ramadan is the month of fasting. It begins with the sighting of the first crescent of the new moon. But Kuwaitis apparently don't trust themselves to be able to see the moon, so they go by what the official Saudi Arabian moon sighting committee says. Therefore, no one is ever completely certain when Ramadan will begin. This year, Master thought Ramadan began on Saturday, Nov. 25. His working hours change during the month so He went to the Arab Times English language Newspaper the Friday night before. There was an article giving the Emir's blessings and wishing everyone Kareem Ramadan. He thought He could sleep in beginning the next morning. My working hours stay the same, so i asked if i could go to bed at my normal time.
i got up the next morning and left for work at the usual time, believing i would have a nice unstressful drive into work. The first thing i noticed was the traffic was normal. i called Master on my mobile and asked Him if He knew for sure that Ramadan had started. He said the paper had indicated it had. A few minutes later, i drove past a restaurant that had people in it. i called Master again and suggested that He go out for breakfast and if He could find an open place, He'd better order "to go" because He had to be at work in 25 minutes. Ramadan hadn't begun on the 25th, it began on the 26th because the official moon sighters in Saudi, hadn't offically sighted it on the 25th.
Now, Ramadan is nearly over and we are having the same kind of fun. Ramadan can be no shorter than 28 days and no longer than 30 days. That means the first Eid could begin as soon as Monday, or as late as Wednesday. And nobody knows for sure. The first Eid is a three day holiday. And Fridays are always holidays. So, if Eid begins on Wednesday, we will also have Saturday off as an 'in lieu of' day. The government has already announced that this is going to be the case, we will have for certain Wednesday and Saturday off. But the official moon sighting committee will be out looking for the moon tomorrow night. If they see it, we will have Monday-Saturday as holidays. If they don't see it, we will work Monday and wait for the moon sighting committee to look again. Maybe we will have Tuesday-Saturday as holidays. Who knows? But for sure we will have Wednesday through Saturday.
The muslims don't seem to mind this kind of uncertainty. But then they generally do not leave the country for long holidays like this because it is a time for family. Maybe it is just ex-pats who get frustrated, but i would think that those who are fasting would want to know for sure when the end will come. Ahhh, life in the fast lane.
i got up the next morning and left for work at the usual time, believing i would have a nice unstressful drive into work. The first thing i noticed was the traffic was normal. i called Master on my mobile and asked Him if He knew for sure that Ramadan had started. He said the paper had indicated it had. A few minutes later, i drove past a restaurant that had people in it. i called Master again and suggested that He go out for breakfast and if He could find an open place, He'd better order "to go" because He had to be at work in 25 minutes. Ramadan hadn't begun on the 25th, it began on the 26th because the official moon sighters in Saudi, hadn't offically sighted it on the 25th.
Now, Ramadan is nearly over and we are having the same kind of fun. Ramadan can be no shorter than 28 days and no longer than 30 days. That means the first Eid could begin as soon as Monday, or as late as Wednesday. And nobody knows for sure. The first Eid is a three day holiday. And Fridays are always holidays. So, if Eid begins on Wednesday, we will also have Saturday off as an 'in lieu of' day. The government has already announced that this is going to be the case, we will have for certain Wednesday and Saturday off. But the official moon sighting committee will be out looking for the moon tomorrow night. If they see it, we will have Monday-Saturday as holidays. If they don't see it, we will work Monday and wait for the moon sighting committee to look again. Maybe we will have Tuesday-Saturday as holidays. Who knows? But for sure we will have Wednesday through Saturday.
The muslims don't seem to mind this kind of uncertainty. But then they generally do not leave the country for long holidays like this because it is a time for family. Maybe it is just ex-pats who get frustrated, but i would think that those who are fasting would want to know for sure when the end will come. Ahhh, life in the fast lane.
