The Corniche Road in Sharjah during Eid Al Fitr when all the Muslims are in the Mosque praying. The Mosque is just further down to the left.
The Corniche Road on a normal day.
Eid Mubarak!
That’s like saying Merry Christmas to Muslims. Yes, September 30, 2008 marked Ramadan to be finally over and after a month of fasting, things go back to normal. Alleluia to that because people didn’t know when Eid Al Fitr really was unless a certain committee announces that they finally saw the moon. Everybody was hanging on a balance on whether they should go to work the next day or not. I found out some time in the evening over the radio.
Being a Catholic in a Muslim country entails a lot of adjustments. Weekends are Fridays and Saturdays because Friday is their holy day. I don’t have a choice where to attend mass because there is only one Catholic Church in Dubai and only one in Sharjah…I’m not sure about the other five emirates. The holidays are based on the Muslim calendar and the holidays depend a lot on the moon, for some reason. Ramadan doesn’t have a fixed schedule unlike our Christmas which will always be on December 25, with or without the moon.
I don’t mind “cooperating” during Muslim holidays. The holy month of Ramadan has its good and not-so good bad sides to it but they're all livable, tolerable and do-able
Muslims fast during this month and so all cafés and restaurants are closed during the day and only open after sunset. The rest of the people have to be discreet when they eat, drink or chew gum. Some restaurants are open but they draw their shades down so people can’t see other people eating inside. What I found disgruntling was when my boyfriend and I went out to have dinner at an Italian restaurant in this area called Al Qasba in Sharjah. I wanted a pizza and was told that I had to wait til 8:30 pm when the other chef arrives because it’s Ramadan and some of their staff come in after Iftar (breaking of the fast). I think that a good restaurant manager would have planned these things out. An Italian restaurant not being able to serve pizza upon demand? Anyways, I got my pizza upon the logical resonance of my boyfriend to the staff.
Work is shorter by two hours. Most offices operate from 9 am til 3 pm without lunch break like in the holding company I work for now. In the retail company where I used to work, they operate from 10 am til 2pm with one hour lunch break and then resume from 5 pm til 10 pm. The no-lunch-break issue was hard to do at first. By the end of the month, I was well adjusted to eating lunch at 3:30 in the afternoon instead of the usual 12 noon. What I’m particularly happy about it is I also lost a few inches in the process.
The down-side of fasting is motorists tend to have road rage or they are more prone to car accidents. Feeling hunger in the middle of traffic is not a welcoming feeling, after all.
Nonetheless, I admire the Muslims' observance of Ramadan. It is the period when they deprive themselves not only of food but other comforts as well. I heard that people in romantic relationships are not encouraged to see each other. Alcohol is not served (except in Dubai) and there is no playing of loud music in clubs. This is also the time they practice to be more generous. Retail shops show their participation by giving big discounts like 50% off or they do buy-1-take-1 promos.
That’s like saying Merry Christmas to Muslims. Yes, September 30, 2008 marked Ramadan to be finally over and after a month of fasting, things go back to normal. Alleluia to that because people didn’t know when Eid Al Fitr really was unless a certain committee announces that they finally saw the moon. Everybody was hanging on a balance on whether they should go to work the next day or not. I found out some time in the evening over the radio.
Being a Catholic in a Muslim country entails a lot of adjustments. Weekends are Fridays and Saturdays because Friday is their holy day. I don’t have a choice where to attend mass because there is only one Catholic Church in Dubai and only one in Sharjah…I’m not sure about the other five emirates. The holidays are based on the Muslim calendar and the holidays depend a lot on the moon, for some reason. Ramadan doesn’t have a fixed schedule unlike our Christmas which will always be on December 25, with or without the moon.
I don’t mind “cooperating” during Muslim holidays. The holy month of Ramadan has its good and not-so good bad sides to it but they're all livable, tolerable and do-able
Muslims fast during this month and so all cafés and restaurants are closed during the day and only open after sunset. The rest of the people have to be discreet when they eat, drink or chew gum. Some restaurants are open but they draw their shades down so people can’t see other people eating inside. What I found disgruntling was when my boyfriend and I went out to have dinner at an Italian restaurant in this area called Al Qasba in Sharjah. I wanted a pizza and was told that I had to wait til 8:30 pm when the other chef arrives because it’s Ramadan and some of their staff come in after Iftar (breaking of the fast). I think that a good restaurant manager would have planned these things out. An Italian restaurant not being able to serve pizza upon demand? Anyways, I got my pizza upon the logical resonance of my boyfriend to the staff.
Work is shorter by two hours. Most offices operate from 9 am til 3 pm without lunch break like in the holding company I work for now. In the retail company where I used to work, they operate from 10 am til 2pm with one hour lunch break and then resume from 5 pm til 10 pm. The no-lunch-break issue was hard to do at first. By the end of the month, I was well adjusted to eating lunch at 3:30 in the afternoon instead of the usual 12 noon. What I’m particularly happy about it is I also lost a few inches in the process.
The down-side of fasting is motorists tend to have road rage or they are more prone to car accidents. Feeling hunger in the middle of traffic is not a welcoming feeling, after all.
Nonetheless, I admire the Muslims' observance of Ramadan. It is the period when they deprive themselves not only of food but other comforts as well. I heard that people in romantic relationships are not encouraged to see each other. Alcohol is not served (except in Dubai) and there is no playing of loud music in clubs. This is also the time they practice to be more generous. Retail shops show their participation by giving big discounts like 50% off or they do buy-1-take-1 promos.
Considering all these, is Ramadan a good or bad experience for me? Well, it's a yes and a no, but I sure welcome Eid Al Fitr!
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