£5,000 in donations raised to help people in Halton celebrate Ramadan – what an amazing achievement! We would like to thank all the kind donors who have generously supported this idea (Halton Borough Council, Halton Housing Trust, Liverpool Muslim Outreach Society, Salaam Care, Riverside Housing Association and Plus Dane Housing Group).
Within SHAP we have a number of services that work to help refugees and asylum seekers with leave to remain; resettle in the community. We also support a number of asylum seekers in the dispersal accommodation sites in various parts of the Liverpool City Region. The staff team in one of our services, where we work in partnership with Plus Dane Housing Group, have worked hard to obtain £5,000 of funding from a number of donors and are providing dinners one day each week during Ramadan. This will provide a special opportunity for the Muslim community in Halton to break their fast, socialise and enjoy a meal together after Maghrib prayer. See flyer below.
Some facts about Ramadan and Eid
Did you know that there are about 7.6 billion people in the world and around 24% of them (1.8 billion) are fasting from sunrise to sunset every day for a whole month? This time of the year is called Ramadan, which is the holiest month of the Muslim calendar.
Ramadan is a very important period in the Islamic calendar and the month is which the Quran was revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. During Ramadan Muslims will wake before dawn for ‘suhur’ (a meal taken just before dawn) and then fast from dawn until sunset. At sunset, most Muslims will break the fast with dates or water (‘iftar’ – the breaking of the fast) and can be followed by a meal. During Ramadan breaking the fast is an occasion for family, friends and the community to get together.
Ramadan ends on the evening of 1st May this year, which is when Eid is celebrated and marks the end of this holy festival. The day starts with prayers and a big meal which is usually the main event, but there are lots of other ways people celebrate too.
Eid is sometimes referred to as the Sugar Feast and people usually eat sweet treats and other deserts at the festival. Around the world different countries have different favourites.
- In Turkey, sweets such as Baklava and Turkish delight are given to friends, family and neighbours
- In Iraq and Saudi Arabia, dates and Kleichas (rose flavoured biscuits) that contain a filling of nuts and dates are considered to be their national cookie
- In Yemen, Bint al sahn is the prefered Yemni sweet, which is sometimes called honey cake and is topped with nigella seeds and Aseeda which is a type of jelly desert.
- In Russia, Manti is a popular thing to eat at Eid, which is a savoury dish usually stuffed with some sort of seasoned meat.
- In China, You Xiang, patties made from flour, water and yeast are fried in oil and are either given as a gift or eaten as part of the Eid feast
- In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Korma is traditionally eaten, as well as various savoury pittas that are shared with family and friends.
- In Morocco, Laasida which is similar to rice pudding is eaten at Breakfast and a traditional Chicken Tagine finishes the day.
- In Indonesia, Lapis Legit – a spiced cake is consumed, which is made from poured and broiled batter and is quite a complex dish to make.
- In Afghanistan, Bolani; a flatbread stuffed with leafy greens, potatoes, pumpkins or lentils is eaten.
- In Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt eat butter cookies which are known as Graybeh in Palestine, Mamoul in Syria and Lebanon and Klaicha in Egypt.
- In the UK, Biryani is the most popular Eid dish
- In Malaysia, Beef Rendang is eaten
As well as traditional foods being eaten, a key part of Eid is giving to charity. The dates for Ramadan and Eid change each year because they are based on the lunar calendar (cycles of the moon) rather than the solar calendar.
Why not say ‘Ramadan Mubarak’ (which means ‘Happy Ramadan’) to people who are Muslim and celebrating Ramadan.