Tuesday July 29, 2014
A public celebration of Eid al-Fitr was organized at noon Monday in Eastman Park. In past years, many members of the community have traveled to the Twin Cities for the celebration.
Sacramento--When Hussain Iqbal woke up in his Sartell home Monday morning, he was resisting the urge to eat."I was thinking 'I'm fasting — I shouldn't eat anything,' " Iqbal said.
After 30 days of fasting for Ramadan, it was force of habit.
But then the Pakistani-American realized it was Eid al-Fitr — the festival of breaking fast, celebrated by Muslims worldwide to mark the completion of Ramadan.
During Ramadan, Muslims traditionally fast from food and water from sunrise to sunset.
"As time passes, you get used to it," said Iqbal, a Wells Fargo branch manager who moved to the area in 2005. "It gets easier."
At midday Monday, Iqbal celebrated with local Muslims at Eastman Park.
There were inflatables, kids games and food.
Eid al-Fitr is traditionally a three-day celebration.
"Just like how people celebrate Christmas, we exchange gifts and get together with family," Iqbal said. "We eat a lot all the stuff you have stayed away from in Ramadan. We really feast and go all out."
The fasting of Ramadan is still a fresh memory, though.
"The main purpose is equality — there's people back home who don't have access to water," said Ahmed Mohamed Dakahe, who has lived in St. Cloud for the past seven years after growing up in Somalia and Kenya.
"Whether you are rich or you are poor, in Ramadan, you all feel the same the pain."
Because the Islamic calender follows a lunar cycle, the month of Ramadan changes annually.
This year, it spanned June 29 to July 27.
Next year it will span June 18 to July 16.
By 2020, it will be from April 24 to May 23.
This year's Ramadan had longer fasting periods because longer periods of sunshine come during early summer.
"There's a lot of temptation," Iqbal said. "When you live in the U.S. as a Muslim and you are fasting, you see people eating all day."
Iqbal said the lessons of fasting during Ramadan last throughout the year.
"In the path of life, you go through ups and down," he said. "Fasting gives you patience and strength to take on anything in life."
And it makes the feasting of Eid al-Fitr all the more rewarding.
"It is a time to celebrate," Dakahe said. "Today we don't work, there's no school and we have a day with family."