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.
🇮🇳 Ayodhya, India and 10 moreDiwaliदीपावली (Dīpāvalī)
A five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Kolkata, India and 5 moreNavaratriनवरात्रि (Navarātri)
A nine-night Hindu festival honoring the goddess Durga and her nine forms through prayer, fasting, and dance.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 5 moreKrishna Janmashtamiकृष्णजन्माष्टमी
A night of fasting, song and vigil that marks the birth of KrishnaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 1 moreChhath Pujaछठ पूजा
A four-day Hindu festival honouring the sun and Chhathi Maiya along riverbanksSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSharad Purnima
A Hindu autumn full moon festival of night vigils, moonlit sweets and sacred dancesSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Jaipur, IndiaGangaurगणगौर
A North Indian spring festival honouring Shiva and Gauri with clay idols and processionsFestival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSohrai
A harvest and cattle observance kept by indigenous communities in eastern IndiaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Vrindavan, India and 2 moreGovardhan Puja
A Hindu festival of piled vegetarian foods and sculpted earth, honouring KrishnaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaChaturmasyaचातुर्मास्य
A four-month sacred monsoon season of fasting, vows, and monastic retreat in IndiaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 IndiaAhoi Ashtami
A day of fasting by Hindu mothers before Diwali, for their children's wellbeingFestival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 IndiaVat PurnimaVaṭapūrṇimā
An annual Hindu festival where married women fast and pray around a banyan treeSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNativity of Mary
A Christian feast day honouring the birth of Mary, the mother of JesusSpiritual · Lunch
🇮🇳 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Chhath Puja: Steffen Gauger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navaratri: Mukerjee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Govardhan Puja: Ms Sarah Welch, CC0, source
- Gangaur: Avinashmaurya, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ahoi Ashtami: आशीष भटनागर, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kavadi Aattam: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Diwali: Kalli navya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nativity of Mary: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Sharad Purnima: ShotgunMavericks, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vat Purnima: Kiran Gopi, CC BY-SA 2.5 in, source
- Krishna Janmashtami: Nvvchar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source