Ramadan, Month of Feasting

Yes, OK, I know it’s actually all about fasting...but explain why we sell more food during Ramadan than any other month.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, supposedly the month when the Koran was received, and henceforth celebrated as a month of contemplation and personal revelation. Muslims are meant to fast between the hours of sunrise and sunset every day for one moon (i.e. lunar month) – they abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, and, er, intimate relations. They often rise to eat before dawn (a meal known as sahari), and then eat iftar or breakfast (traditionally dates, halva and tea) at dusk. During the evening they may prepare lavish meals, or graze on and off as the mood takes them. There is great emphasis during this month on sharing food, both by way of eating with your friends and of giving to the less fortunate. It is very common in Iran for the faithful to congregate in mosques or masjids (prayer houses) to eat communally. It is regarded as a good act not only to fast but to help those who are fasting, and to provide iftar for those in need.