What up, tenors?
Um, I gotta be honest.
Okay, there's a lot of things I don't know everything about, so when I don't, I like to go to someone who might know more than I do.
And today, I'm curious about Ramadan.
Well then, you're in luck because for today's mini-sode, we asked 10 News correspondent Jamie Guerra to tell us all about this special time of year.
Let's get into it.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6...
It's March 22nd, 2024.
And that means we are 12 days into the holiest month of the year for 18 billion people across the world.
Not million.
Billion.
I'm talking about Ramadan, the most important Muslim holiday.
A holiday that is so important that Muslims literally celebrate it for an entire month.
But what exactly is Ramadan and why do we observe it?
Ramadan is a month dedicated to fasting, reflection, and prayer.
Every year, during the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, we celebrate the time the first verses of the Quran, the holy book of Islam, were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
This happened over 1400 years ago.
And every single year since then, Muslims have commemorated this event through fasting.
And what is fasting for those who may not know?
Well, it doesn't mean you have to move at super speed for the entire month.
It actually means that you can't eat or drink.
Not eating for an entire month sounds hard right, but don't worry, because that would actually be probably impossible and super unhealthy.
Instead, from sunrise to sunset each day, Muslims fast.
And at night, you're free to eat whatever you want.
They eat a special meal after sunset called iftar, usually eating traditional foods like dates.
And then they wake up super early before sunrise to eat again and prepare for the day.
This is called suhoor, and sometimes you need to wake up as early as 5am.
But don't worry if you're still a kid.
The good news is, it's only the grown-ups who have to fast.
Ramadan is about so much more than just fasting anyway.
It's a time to connect with family, spend time with friends and reflect on how you can become a better, kinder person to everyone around you.
Many Muslims use the month as an opportunity to give to charity, do good deeds within their community and use prayer as a way to become closer with God and themselves.
And because so many people around the world observe this holiday, Everyone does it just a little bit differently.
Muslims in Turkey wake up every morning during suhoor the time you eat before sunrise to the sound of drums.
Drummers march down the street in traditional Turkish clothing and greet everyone with music.
In Egypt, the streets are decorated with colorful lanterns called fanus, a tradition that dates back almost a thousand years.
In Bosnia, they light fireworks on the first night of Ramadan.
But after the last Milsims, all around the world come together for perhaps the most special tradition of all Eid al-Fitr, or just Eid.
Eid al-Fitr means festival of fast-breaking, and this is a time for feasting fun friends and family.
Everyone dresses up in their best clothes and gathers for a well-deserved giant meal, and many even go to the mosque for a special prayer.
It's so fun and it also doesn't hurt that all the kids receive little gifts too.
At its heart though, Ramadan is about learning to become the best and most kind version of yourself that you can be, and learning to appreciate everything that you have in life.
That's part of why we fast, to show us how lucky we are to have so much food in the first place.
So happy Ramadan to Muslims all around the world, and to all our Muslim listeners.
And if you have a Muslim friend that seems a little tired or cranky this month, remember they might be fasting.
You would be too.
And make sure you tell them Ramadan Mubarak, which literally means blessed Ramadan.
It might just mean a whole lot.
Say it with me.
Ramadan Mubarak.
Thank you, Jamie.
That was super helpful.
Oh, it's Cap calling.
Hello?
Yep.
Oh, that's great.
What's up, Rai?
Tracy sat down with some friends of the 10 that observed the month of Ramadan so we can hear about their firsthand experiences.
Let's hear it.
My name is Yahya.
I am a junior at Monta Vista High School in Danville, California.
I love to play sports and I look and I enjoy spending my time playing video games.
And I'm Hadra.
I'm currently a sophomore at Monta Vista High School.
I love swimming and just watching Netflix.
So It is the month of Ramadan.
What special family traditions do you have to observe it?
So one thing we do often as a family which is pretty special honestly, is I mean we just break our fast and we start our fast together.
So we have our meals together.
And on top of that, we also do all of our daily prayers together.
And this is something special because, you know, Hadria and I are both high schoolers.
We have conflicting schedules with our families.
You know, we're pretty busy doing homework and everything.
So we don't have a lot of time on our hands and we don't really get to spend quality time with our family that often.
So Ramadan, you know, gives us a perfect opportunity to spend quality time with our family, even though that, even though we're really busy.
Is that your favorite part, or are there other things that you do that that really stand out for you?
My favorite part of Ramadan.
Of course, family is a big part of it, but on top of that, it's also like spending time with my friends.
So usually to break the fast, we go to our local mosque or oftentimes we go to our friends' houses.
These are places where we can spend time with our Muslim community, our Muslim peers and friends.
And honestly, the community aspect of Ramadan is really my favorite.
I definitely agree.
The community aspect is my favorite, too.
It's really nice to be with my Muslim peers and just being able to relate to them while fasting.
And it's definitely something I look forward to breaking my fast with them throughout the day.
When did you both start fasting?
I started around the age of 13.
And I started fasting around the age of 12.
So I started slowly.
And for example, I would try to fast every other day, for example.
And each year I just progressed more and more, until I was able to fast every day of the month, which I do currently now.
And what's your experience like at school?
Do your teachers know that you're fasting?
Do they make accommodations?
What's that like?
Yeah, so my teachers, they ask a lot of questions, which is amazing.
And they're very interested in this.
So I love to explain it to them.
And my school, they're very great with accommodations.
You know, for example, last year in PE, instead of having to do the mile run or the 800 meter dash or the pacer test, which is, you know, very high intensity workout, our teachers would give us an alternative option, something more low intensity, for example, like walking around the gym or walking around the track, and You know this is something very considerate of them.
And we really appreciate them doing this because it makes it way easier for us.
So it sounds like you have this great experience with your friends, your school's super supportive.
What would you like non-Muslims to understand about the month?
I think I would like non-Muslims to understand that Ramadan is actually a time that most Muslims or I should say all Muslims look forward to every year.
It's not something that I feel like we feel forced to do or pressured by because of all the benefits that we receive, whether that's spiritual, mental or physical benefits.
And It's actually enjoyable for us compared to like all the stereotypes that exist right now.
One of the most common questions that I get asked is oh like, aren't you starving yourself?
Or like, how do you not eat for 30 days straight?
But it's like, no, like it's not that, it's not that much.
It's like you know we wake up in the morning early to eat, and then that'll last us throughout the day.
And then we'll break our fast and it's not, it's really not that bad.
And then another really common question is not even water.
Um, that one's asked a lot and yeah, not even water.
So we have a special holiday called Eid.
Um, And it's specifically for Ramadan.
It's called Eid al-Fitr.
And it is a very special day.
It's just one of two special holidays that we have as Muslims.
And on that day, we start the day with a little sermon.
Some person comes and talks about something, you know, some Islamic concept.
After that, we have a prayer that we do together.
And then after that, it's a celebration for the rest of the day.
We meet our friends, you know, spend time with family, eat like amazing food, you know, stuff we maybe couldn't eat during Ramadan because we were fasting.
And it's a great holiday, honestly.
All the children get money from their parents and, you know, family, friends and everything.
It's very amazing.
Oh, I love this.
Yeah.
I do love Eid.
It's a time that I really look forward to, definitely with, like the community aspect and everything and, of course, the Eidi, which is what the money that we receive is called.
And I think my favorite part about Eid is the clothes, because Eid clothes, especially for girls, are like super fancy and, you know, like During Ramadan I think it's something that girls look forward to, because my friends and I right now we're planning our Eid outfits and everything.
And I think it's something that's really fun.
That's great.
That's wonderful.
Well, then I will say to both of you, Ramadan Mubarak.
Thank you so much for being here today.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thanks, Cap.
Those teens are awesome.
I wonder if they'd let me celebrate Eid with them.
Thanks for listening to this 10 News minisode.
We'll be back next week with a full ep.
The 10 News is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcast and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.
I'm Pamela Kirkland.
And I'm Ryan Willard.
Thanks for listening to the 10 News.
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