🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
Ramadan is a month of fasting from dawn to sunset, broken with dates and water at the iftar, then a meal. Eid al-Fitr ends it with prayers, new clothes, sweets and gifts to children.
Ramadan, being writtenFasting and feasting
Fasting and feasting belong together.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for the curious, the homesick and the hosts.
Fasting and feasting belong together. Most of the world's great faiths set aside days or seasons for going without, and nearly all follow them with a meal of celebration. The fast may be a month of daylight abstinence, a day of water, forty days of meatless eating or a single meal given up. The feast that follows is often the best food of the year. Together they shape the calendar, teach discipline and generosity, and bring families and neighbours to one table. This page looks at how different peoples fast, break the fast and celebrate afterwards, and how the habits are changing.
What it is for
Believers describe fasting as a way of turning attention from the body to prayer, of remembering the poor, of showing penitence or of preparing for a sacred day. It also brings people together, since many fast at the same time and share in the effort. The feast that ends the fast reverses the mood, and gives thanks for what has been received. The contrast is the point: going without teaches gratitude for plenty, and plenty is made sweeter after going without. Fasting is a personal discipline within a communal calendar, and people who are ill, young, old or travelling are generally excused.
Common elements across cultures
A fast usually has a clear start and end, with a particular meal before and after. Rules differ: no food or drink from dawn to dusk in Ramadan, no meat or dairy in Orthodox Lent, one meal a day on a Hindu Ekadashi, or no food at all on Yom Kippur. Many fasts are followed by shared meals to which neighbours and the poor are invited. Almsgiving and charity go with them. Some fasts are tied to the moon, others to a season, a saint or a festival, and many ask the faster to avoid arguments and to be gentle.
Food, dress and music
Fasting foods are often simple: dates and water, lentil soup, bread, potatoes, fruit, buckwheat. The feasts are rich, with roast meat, sweets, pastries, spiced rice and drinks. Dress is plain for the fast, and new or white clothes are worn for the feast. Music is quiet during the fast in many traditions, with chant and prayer, and loud at the feast, with drums, songs and dance. Late evening markets, cannon shots to announce the breaking of the fast and special television programmes have become part of Ramadan in many countries.
How it is changing
Many people now fast for reasons beyond religion, including health and mindfulness, and intermittent fasting has become a popular practice. Religious fasts have adapted to modern working life, with office iftars, fasting-friendly menus and shared meals in public places. In some places, such as London, Istanbul and Jakarta, community iftars have become open events for neighbours of every faith. Stricter fasts, such as the full Orthodox Lent, are kept by a smaller proportion of people, while the feast days remain widely popular.
Fasting and feasting around the world
🇪🇬 Egypt
Lanterns called fanous hang in the streets in Ramadan, and long tables for the poor, mawa'id al-rahman, are set out for the iftar. A cannon announces sunset, and sweet qatayef pancakes are a specialty.
Read: Fanous🇹🇷 Turkey
Drummers walk the neighbourhoods before dawn to wake people for the sahur, and the iftar is broken with dates, olives and the flat pide bread of Ramadan. Mosque lights are strung between minarets.
Ramadan, being written🇮🇳 India
Hindus keep Ekadashi, the eleventh day of each fortnight, and Navratri, with fruit, milk and special flours. Jain fasting during Paryushana can last eight days or more, and the Digambara Jains keep strict rules throughout.
Ekadashi, being written🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Buddhists keep Poya days, the full-moon days, with observance of eight precepts, white clothes and visits to the temple, and the day is a public holiday. The Vesak festival is the most important of them.
Read: Poya🇮🇱 Israel and the Jewish world
Yom Kippur is a 25-hour fast with no food or water, spent largely in prayer. Fast days such as Tisha B'Av recall losses in Jewish history, and the break-fast meal includes bagels, fish and sweet kugel.
Read: Yom KippurTraditions to start with
Eid al-FitrThe feast that ends Ramadan.
LentForty days before Easter.
Yom KippurThe Jewish Day of Atonement.
ParyushanaThe Jain festival of fasting.
MaslenitsaThe Russian pancake week.
Mardi GrasThe feast before Lent.Also part of it, and being written: Ramadan (The month of fasting in Islam.), Ekadashi (The Hindu day of partial fasting.).
Questions people ask
Who is excused from fasting?
Most traditions excuse children, the elderly, the sick, pregnant and nursing women, and travellers. Many ask them to make it up later or give to charity instead.
Is fasting always about food?
Not always. Some traditions fast from speech, from certain kinds of food, from entertainment or from particular acts, as well as from eating.
What is a break-fast meal?
The first meal after a fast, often simple and light at the start, such as dates and water for Ramadan, and fuller afterwards. It is usually shared with family and guests.
Why is the feast after a fast so important?
It closes the observance with gratitude and joy, and it brings the community back to ordinary life together. In many faiths it is a duty to feast as much as to fast.
Is it polite to eat in front of someone who is fasting?
Usually yes, in a private setting, as people who fast do not expect others to stop eating. Hosts and colleagues often offer a quiet space and are considerate about timing.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Fasting and feasting on EveryParampara
The traditions written up so far, best known first.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇦🇲 Armenia and 5 moreFeast of the TransfigurationՊայծառակերպութիւն
A Christian holy day marking the revelation of Christ's divine glory on Mount TaborSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇷 Bursa, TurkeyLaylat al-Raghaibلَيْلَةُ الرّغائِب
An Islamic night of prayer and fasting at the beginning of the three sacred monthsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreIsru Chagאסרו חג
A minor Jewish observance extending the joy and sanctity of major pilgrimage holidaysSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaNirjala Ekadashiनिर्जला एकादशी
A rigorous, waterless Hindu fast observed in early summer to honour the god Vishnu.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇷 Orchomenus, GreeceAgrionia
An ancient Greek nocturnal festival dedicated to Dionysus AgrioniusSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇱 Gjirokastër, Albania and 5 moreDodola and Perperuna
A rainmaking ritual kept across Southeast Europe, where children dressed in greenery lead processions to call for summerSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDajiao打醮
An annual Taoist ritual and festival seeking peace and safety for the communitySpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelTikkun HaKlaliתיקון הכללי
A set of ten Psalms recited for repentance and spiritual healing within the Breslover Hasidic tradition.Spiritual
🇮🇱 IsraelEve of Passover on Shabbatערב פסח
Special Jewish calendar customs when the eve of Passover coincides with the SabbathSeasonal · Dinner
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMadhushravaniमधुश्रावणी
A fifteen-day Mithila festival of fasting, worship and song for newly married bridesSpiritual
🇲🇻 MaldivesMaahefun
A Maldivian gathering for the last meal before the Ramadan fast beginsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Diu, IndiaDashama Vrataદશામા વ્રત
A ten-day Hindu vow kept at home with a clay shrine, mostly by women in Gujarat and DiuSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFive Grains五穀
A sacred grouping of staple crops honoured as the bedrock of East Asian civilizationFolklore
🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaPadusan
A Javanese purification bath kept by the Abangan community before Ramadan begins.Spiritual
🇨🇳 Ziyang, China and 1 moreThree Corpses三尸
A Daoist belief in three inner parasites that cause illness and cut life shortFolklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomJack o' Lent
An English Lenten custom of abusing and burning a straw figureSeasonal
🇮🇳 IndiaParashurama Jayantiपरशुरामजयंती (Paraśurāmajayantī)
A Hindu day of fasting and worship marking Parashurama's birth on Akshaya TritiyaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Palani, India and 1 moreSurasamharamSūrasaṃhāram
A temple performance of Murugan's victory, ending the week-long Kanda Shashti fastSpiritual
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreFilsetaፍልሰታ
A fifteen-day fast and feast honouring the Dormition and Assumption of MarySpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇩🇿 Tlemcen, AlgeriaAshura in Algeriaيوم عاشوراء
A day of fasting, almsgiving, evening feasting and regional folk masquerades.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇩🇿 AlgeriaWezeeaوزيعة
A communal meat-sharing custom fostering rural solidarity across AlgeriaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇦 Toronto, CanadaRamadan in Canada
A month of fasting, prayer and shared evening meals, kept by Muslims across CanadaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 IndiaDivja
A Goan ritual where women carry oil lamps in a temple procession to fulfill vows.Spiritual
🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreThree Sundays of Commemoration
A Maronite Christian observance held on the three Sundays before Lent to remember the departed.Spiritual · Dinner
🇮🇳 Thiruvananthapuram, IndiaAttukal Pongala
A ten-day Hindu festival in Kerala where millions of women cook rice offerings in earthen pots for the goddess.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaKaradaiyan Nonbuகாரடையான் நோன்பு
A Tamil Hindu festival where women fast and pray for the long life of their husbands.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇳🇪 Niger and 1 moreSitta min Shawwalستة من شوال
A voluntary six-day Islamic fast observed during the month following RamadanSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreMalam Tujuh Likurمالم توجوه ليكور
The Malay custom of lighting oil lamps during the closing nights of Ramadan.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreLeil Selichotליל הסליחות
A night of penitential prayers and poems recited before the Jewish New Year to seek forgiveness.Spiritual
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreHoshana Rabbahהוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה
The seventh and final day of Sukkot, marked by seven synagogue processions and night-long study.Festival · Dinner
🇬🇪 GeorgiaTheodore's Saturday
The first Saturday of Lent, kept with boiled wheat and visits to the gravesSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceParis CarnivalCarnaval de Paris
An annual street celebration and costume procession across ParisFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreEmber daysQuatuor Tempora
A quarterly Western Christian rhythm of fasting, prayer and seasonal thanksgivingSeasonal · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMahalakshmia jo Sagroمَھالڪشميءَ جو سڳڙو / महालक्ष्मीअ जो सॻड़ो
A sixteen-day Hindu fast and prayer dedicated to the goddess of wealthSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreTsiknopemptiΤσικνοπέμπτη
A Greek Carnival feast of grilled meats held on the second to last Thursday before Lent.Festival · Dinner
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Five Grains: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Eve of Passover on Shabbat: בעלת הזכויות - טלי אמתי, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eid al-Fitr: Mohammed Tawsif Salam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ember days: Richard Symonds, CC BY 3.0, source
- Maslenitsa: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yom Kippur: Maurycy Gottlieb, Public domain, source
- Padusan: Muhammad Khafidz Riza, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lent: Manuela Paki-Costa, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Paryushana: Aayush18, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dashama Vrata: Athwartmisunderstand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maahefun: Ibrahim Asad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Madhushravani: Monika Jha, CC0, source
- Hoshana Rabbah: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kavadi Aattam: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Three Corpses: Michał Boym, Public domain, source
- Parashurama Jayanti: Rajasekhar1961, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ashura in Algeria: Jan Janssonius, Public domain, source
- Feast of the Transfiguration: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Isru Chag: Jim Padgett, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nirjala Ekadashi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Dajiao: 29cm, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Divja: Govenkarpriyanka, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Attukal Pongala: Maheshsudhakar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Malam Tujuh Likur: Qatrunan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Leil Selichot: Yael Shilo יעל שילה, CC BY 3.0, source
- Paris Carnival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mardi Gras: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tsiknopempti: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source