Fasting and breaking the fast
Ramadan iftar, Lent, Ekadashi: the rules of the fast and how it ends.
Fasting customs are the rules of what is given up, for how long and how the fast is ended: Ramadan from dawn to dusk, Lent and its Fridays, Ekadashi, Yom Kippur, Buddhist observance days. These pages describe the practice as those who keep it would, and say nothing about health.
Rules of the fast
Each tradition has its own: who is expected to fast and who is excused, what counts as breaking it, when it begins and ends. Children, the sick, travellers and pregnant women are often treated with specific exceptions.
Breaking the fast
The meal that ends a fast usually has its own ritual: a prayer, a first sip or date, a gathering of the family or neighbours, a shared table at the mosque or the temple. It is one of the most social moments of the year in many communities.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Fasting and breaking the fast (meal). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHalloween
An annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritageFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇷🇸 SerbiaSlavaСлава
An annual Serbian family feast honouring their patron saint with blessed bread and wineSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreClean MondayΚαθαρά Δευτέρα
The Monday that opens Great Lent, kept with fasting, forgiveness and kite-flyingSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreSerbian ChristmasБожић
A three-day midwinter observance focused on oak logs, floor straw and family gatheringsSpiritual · Dinner
🇵🇱 PolandWigilia
Poland's meatless Christmas Eve supper, begun when the first star appearsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEasterΠάσχα
The day Christians mark the resurrection, kept with vigils, feasts and eggsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 5 moreCarnival
A season of parades, masks and feasting in the days before LentFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreLittle ChristmasNollaig na mBan
A January feast day marking the close of the twelve days of ChristmasSeasonal · Dinner
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaChristmas in RussiaРождество Христово
An Orthodox winter feast marked by church vigils, fasting suppers and festive mealsSpiritual · Supper
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTwelve Days of Christmas
A festive Christian liturgical season linking Christmas Day to the eve of EpiphanySeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇭🇷 CroatiaBadnjakBadnji dan
A Christmas Eve oak log burned in the hearth across Croatia to welcome the holiday.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jack-o'-lantern: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Slava: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas in Russia: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Serbian Christmas: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Clean Monday: Перов, Public domain, source
- Wigilia: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Easter: Piero della Francesca, Public domain, source
- Carnival: Etienne Le Cocq, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Twelve Days of Christmas: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Badnjak: Vidonjac, CC BY 2.0, source