Fast-Breaking Festival
Name: Fast-Breaking Festival
Date: the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar rI~cee Festival of Fast-Breaking is one of the three major Islamic festivals and grandly
Celebrated by the Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Ozbek, Tajik, Tartar,
Kirgiz, Salar, Dongxiang and Bonan people. Every September according to Islamic calendar is called Ramadan, which lasts for 29 or 30 days. During this period, Muslim people must finish their pre-fasting meal before sunrise and they are not allowed to eat or drink anything until the sun goes down. In addition, all Muslim people are supposed to curb all their personal desires, including that of sexual intercourse, and practice abstinence during this time in order to show their allegiance to Allah. Children, sick people, elderly people and women who are undergoing menstruate are allowed not to practice fasting but they should limit their diet and must not eat or drink in public. In the evening when the bells in the mosques ring, people could suspend their fasting and begin to have their meal.
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Frying sanzi. |
The beginning and the end of the fasting month of Ramadan are strictly according to the appearance of the crescent. When the month of Ramadan ends, Muslims will celebrate the Fast-Breaking Festival.
According to the Koran, in the early days of Islamism, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, would mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan by taking a bath, putting on clean clothes, walking to the outskirts of the city together with his Muslim followers, and handing out fast-breaking donations by way of atonement. This practice gradually evolved into one of the three major Islamic festivals celebrated by all the Muslims in the world.
On the morning of the festival, adult Muslims take baths and change into their festival best before going to the mosque for prayers. Then they begin visiting relatives and friends, extend greetings to each other, and hand out deep-fried dough twists, fried doughnuts, almonds, tea and fruit as a form of celebration. It is also a common practice for Muslims to whitewash their houses, clean up their yard, and have haircut and bath before the festival. |
