Ramadan and Kids

Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar, is a month of patience and of sacrifice. It is an inward struggle to fight against our urges, for drink, food and certain pleasures.

With the children home for the summer, this Ramadan I feel an increased need to raise myself to a higher standard; to refrain from complaining about aches and pains or hunger.

Raising children in North America they are exposed to numerous celebrations, holidays and cultural practices. It is important to have them view their own celebrations and festivities with as much zest and glamour.

Children remember impressions. If they see their parent complaining, clutching their stomachs and moping around, they may not look forward to observing the fasting month as they get older.

Spot the moon. The night before Ramadan is to start, we play spot the moon; explaining to the children that once the moon of Ramadan is spotted, the holy month begins. They take it as a great responsibility to search for the moon, hoping to be the ones to announce that the month has started.

Some activities we do in our home for the month of Ramadan include decorating the house with Ramadan lights. (Festive lights generally sold around the month of December). Every evening, a little while before Iftar (the breaking of the fast) we plug in the lights, creating a warm, festive atmosphere in the house.

Last year we made Ramadan links to count the days of the month. Each night, we cut one link. It helped the children visualize how many days left until Eid-ul-Fitr. The religious festival after the month of fasting.

Ramadan lanterns. These are paper lanterns that are decorated and sometimes made to celebrate Chinese New Year. They can be hung up around the house or made for others as gifts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeZKYGmuZn0

From a very young age, we have spoken to the children about showing empathy towards those that are less fortunate. They understand how it feels when they are hungry so we explain that there are a lot of children and adults around the world who get very hungry but cannot simply walk into a kitchen and pick a snack. We hope this in turn helps them better appreciate what they have.

A couple of years ago, Pakistan was hit by flooding and there were millions of people affected, only a short while before Ramadan began. Some friends and our family joined together to pack food boxes to send to Pakistan via Pakistan International Airlines. While packing the boxes we watched a video by Muslim singer Sami Yusuf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7s4Jf1U0d4 This video helped them visualize where the items they were packing would go.

A good friend of ours organizes a fantastic initiative every Ramadan. Informally it is known as Friend Iftars. The real purpose is much deeper. It’s important for children to feel a sense of community. Once a week, our group of friends gets together at someone’s house and we share in a Potluck style Iftar (breaking of the fast). We try to get together about thirty minutes before sunset so we can do Islamic story-time with the children, followed by breaking our fast together. Over the past three years our family has been participating, this has helped foster a wonderful sense of community amongst the children. They get to meet with their friends, eat yummy food and as the days are longer and the sun sets just before 9pm, it means staying up late. A great recipe for warm childhood memories.

The list of things to do with the children during Ramadan is endless. The important thing is to get them involved and build memories they can carry with them the rest of their lives.