What Is Ramadan And When Is It Celebrated In 2021? - Western Union

Do you want to learn more about the holy month of fasting? We asked our Western Union employees about their Ramadan traditions.

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and one of the five pillars of Islam is observed by 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide as a holy month of prayer, reflection, and fasting. Ramadan follows the lunar calendar, meaning that the beginning of Ramadan changes every year.

In 2021, Ramadan begins on Monday, April 12, and will last until Tuesday, May 11 — generally beginning on the first sighting of the crescent moon one day after the new moon. The tradition of sighting the moon to signal the beginning of Ramadan varies across countries, along with the rituals and traditions.

During Ramadan, the practice of fasting, or “ṣawm”, is required for all able-bodied Muslims. During the fast, Muslims refrain from eating or drinking from dawn until sunset. The exceptions to this are those that are ill, pregnant or nursing, menstruating, or traveling. Young children and elders are also exempted from fasting.

For Muslims, fasting is a practice of self-restraint to bring themselves closer to Allah, or God. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, prayer, doing good deeds, and spending time with family and friends.

To learn more about the holy month, we asked our Western Union employees about their practices and how they will spend Ramadan in 2021.

• Abdenbi Amounan, 39, is our Assistant Marketing Manager for Europe and responsible for Digital Retail in the European-African market. Abdenbi lives in Mohammedia, a city in Morocco.
• Rajaa El Korchi, 42, was born in France. She currently lives in London, UK, and is our Senior Recruiter for the EMEA region.
• Moudar Mouhamed, 31, is the Senior Digital Products & Customer Success Specialist at Western Union. Moudar is from Aleppo, Syria, and lives in Vienna, Austria.

What is Ramadan about?

Abdenbi: “Ramadan, or Ramzan, is the month of prayer, fasting, and charity work. In this month, Muslims avoid eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. The meal before sunrise is called Suhoor (from Arabic “the time before dawn”), and the name for the meal after sunset is Iftar (literally “breakfast”). Traditionally, Muslim families prepare a lot of different foods to share with family members and poor neighbors.”

Moudar: “Ramadan is 30 days of relaxation, so everyone should be careful and try to do only positive things. It’s also important to be close to God. Ramadan is a time to be spent with family. We all come together daily for Iftar.”

Rajaa: “The spiritual aspect of Ramadan is to perform meditation and get closer to God. As an act of charity, we feed needy people surrounding the area we live in or abroad.”