Shake Up Your Celebrations: Ramadan
Shake Up Your Celebrations is a campaign that highlights books featuring a variety of holidays, traditions, and celebrations. Many of these holidays are underrepresented in classroom and library programming, which often centers around Christmas and other Christian holidays.
About Ramadan
Over a billion Muslims around the world are getting ready to celebrate Ramadan, which begins on Wednesday, March 22 at sundown.
Ramadan is a month-long holiday and one of the holiest times for Muslims. Celebrated during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims fast each day from dawn until sunset. This means that during these hours, they do not eat or drink, even water. Fasting is a way for Muslims to practice self-control, learn to be compassionate for those who have less, and bring themselves closer to God. People also celebrate through prayer and reading the Qur’an.
After sunset, families sit together or join friends and neighbors to break the fast. This tradition is called iftar and often begins with eating dates. Following iftar, families may also go to the mosque for evening prayer and special Ramadan prayers called taraweeh.
At the end of this month of fasting, Muslims celebrate Eid ul-Fitr, or “The Festival of the Breaking of the Fast” with prayers, food, and more.
Learn more about Ramadan and how to celebrate it with the children in your life on author Natasha Khan Kazi's website.
Books to Celebrate
With radiant and welcoming art, this debut picture book and modern holiday classic captures the magic and meaning of one of the world's most joyful and important celebrations.
It's Ramadan, the month of peace, and Moon watches over Ramadan traditions with excitement and longing in this sweetly illustrated debut.
In Egypt, India, Argentina and Dubai, in Somalia, New Zealand and Indonesia, in Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, children and their families do good deeds in honor of those who have less.
Cleverly blending glimpses of different countries' celebrations with the corresponding phases of the moon, Moon's Ramadan makes Ramadan, one of the world's most widely celebrated traditions, accessible and exciting for all readers. Includes robust and easy-to-understand back matter.
With radiant and welcoming art, this debut picture book and modern holiday classic captures the magic and meaning of one of the world's most joyful and important celebrations.
It's Ramadan, the month of peace, and Moon watches over Ramadan traditions with excitement and longing in this sweetly illustrated debut.
In Egypt, India, Argentina and Dubai, in Somalia, New Zealand and Indonesia, in Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, children and their families do good deeds in honor of those who have less.
Cleverly blending glimpses of different countries' celebrations with the corresponding phases of the moon, Moon's Ramadan makes Ramadan, one of the world's most widely celebrated traditions, accessible and exciting for all readers. Includes robust and easy-to-understand back matter.