So Ramadan in an Arabic country is not really that different than it is back at home!! This is my conclusion so far! I have had iftar by myself almost everyday. It does not feel so ramdani...the only thing that reminds me that it is Ramadan is the amount of cars parked in front of the masjid. So I guess more people pray at the masjid in Ramadan.
But really this is not any different than Ramadan in Canada. Since I got married Ramadan started being different; especially because the first few years of our marriage my husband did not fast.
When I was living at home with my parents Ramadan had a different feel...I guess it does not matter where you are. It is the people around you that make it special. My parents had people over in Ramadan at least 3 times a week. And we were invited to people’s house at least 2 times a week. And on days we did eat alone, it was the six of us; so really it did not feel lonely at all.
Even after getting married we still had iftar with my family and friends few times a week. On Saturday we used to rent a hall with seven or ten other families and we each brought one dish and we ate iftar together. Those were fun iftars...the men went for tarawe7 prayers after eating while us ladies sat around chatted and munched on yummy Arabic sweets!!
In Canada during Ramadan I can wear whatever I want without hearing idiots telling me how I should and should not dress...if I am not fasting for any reason I can still eat wherever I want. If I am at the mall and get thirsty I can buy a bottle of water and drink it without anyone looking at me and estagfering Allah.
I really thought it would be different here...but it is not! Maybe if hubby was here we would be invited to places and do more things after iftar...but I don’t know...so far so not good! So tell me, what is so special about Ramadan here?? Am I missing something?? And btw the atayef here! Yuck! My mom makes them a million and ten times better!
10 comments:
You said it! i think what makes Ramadan special is having your loved ones with you and around you...i hope the remaining days of Ramadan you will feel it more special. Eating alone sucks! Sorry about that...if you were in Beirut i would have had you over every night for iftar and suhoor too! Cheer up!
Oh Sam! I'm sorry to hear that...but it's as you guys have said: what makes it good is having the right ppl around:)
As for me, I miss athan big time here! I miss the gatherings and atayif EVERYDAY too!
Yesterday I had Iftar by myself here, while my husband was at work, and I had tears in my eyes remembering our long iftars at my family's!!
Then I decided to stop thinking of it and I started doing the dishes before I finished eating :p
Hope it gets better soon, and you once said that your husband is visitng you soon, so it's gonna be great inshallah:)
Noone should have to eat alone during Ramadan. It's all about the gathering of loved ones. I'm not one of ur loved ones but I'd be glad to join you if you're feeling lonely. Don't let the spirit of ramadan die, it's wonderful!
oh Sam
Ramadan is gr8 bejam3a , and i guess if u rhubby here u will enjoy it much better , u need to get invited here and there
i hope the coming days be much better :)
Ramadan in Jordan is diff because the whole country gets into the spirit as opposed to just you and the few members of the Muslim community you happen to know. I guess we all miss Ramadan in amman because our families live there... while your fam has been based in Canada for so long, that all your close relatives, friends etc are all there and not in Jordan.
I've been eating alone almost every day since Ramadan started too :( my hubby can only come on weekends since he's working. It really does suck when you have your iftar all by yourself, its SOOO depressing :(
ok i just reread my comment and all i can say is Sorry!! ppl are trying to cheer you up and here I am with my depressing comment LOL
sam, why don't u go to ur sister in law since u live in the same building...or why don't u try to invite some family and friends over to enjoy the nice spirit of Ramadan and the gatherings..
about eating or drinking while in public...i think one should avoid only to respect others feelings not more since u are in a muslim and arab country and the majority of ppl are fasting...in Canada the majority are non muslims plus the culture and way of thinking is different there...in arabic countires ppl are more 7ashooreen and they interfere with others business! when u drink in the mall they think: it's either ur telling ppl to hell with u i'm not fasting and i'm gonna eat and drink as i wish and i don't care how u feel about it
or:
you're trying to show everybody that u have an excuse and ur not fasting! (sick i know..but some think this way...i've been told!!)
and both are not accepted in our countries...even non muslims respects others feelings and avoid eating/drinking and even smoking in public!
hope the next 2 weeks will be better for u :)
summer thanks...u r too sweet:) im ok now..i guess i was feeling home sick yesterday:)
nido yeh it sucks eating all alone...:)
deemco...thank you..u r so sweet! soon hubby will be here and people will come more often:)
mais...well i tried to invite people but since hubby is not here noone is taking my invitations seriously..and after the few cooking disasters thanks to the stove and the different ingredients im glad they did not accept my invitation..phew! even kabsa my specialtly turned out bad
:(
and i did not actually go out and eat here in ramadan...i'd never do that...if i got comments about wearing jeans (which are not tight since im losing weight) and a tshirt...i can only imagine the comments i would get if i drank...but i also respect that others are fasting so i'd never eat or drink..but im saying it is nice to be able to when u r too thirsty and fasting anyways..since no one is fasting in canada..no one would care:)
qabbani..yeh the jam3a is what makes a difference
tinkerbella yeh it is depressing..but it is ok..u did not depress me..u r too funny:)
(exuse my spelling and grammer..im typing with one hand while trying to keep little hands away from the keyboard...)
now come on, Ramadan in Jordan rocks, when I was a kid it was the best time of year, we used to go to the marajee7 every day, and buy small fireworks, a piaster each (do not exist any more), lit them, throw them on neighbors' houses and run away, it was a lot of fun!
cheer up :) everything will be better eventually.. and the atayef here is very gooooood.. kef ma bet7ebehum.. if yours in Canada are better.. i wonder how would that taste like.. im hungry..
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