Ramadan is one of the most important festivals on Islam and is celebrated at the end of the month long fasting during the month of the same name. It is celebrated with new clothes, typical foods, visits to friends and families and a large party given by the community where everybody mingles happily together. This is the day of forgetting past grievances and sins and make a new beginning.

Ramadan 2017 is on June 26 Monday
The importance of Ramadan
There are five main duties of a devout Muslim. One of them is to observe a month long fasting during the month of Ramadan. This is the ninth lunar month of the Islamic calendar. During this month, adult Muslims do not eat or drink anything from sundown. They do not take tobacco or alcohol and refrain from sexual relations and some form of swearing. They offer prayers every day and recite the Quran. Only people who are old, sick, travelling, pregnant, breastfeeding or going through the menstrual cycle are exempt from fasting.

Ramadan Mubarak is the ninth month on the Islamic calendar. Ramadan has immense importance in Quran and Hadith and Ramadan is that month which has been mentioned repeatedly in the Quran.

ALLAH SAYS IN THE QURAN THAT RAMADAN IS THE MONTH WHEN QURAN WAS SENT. (SURAH BAQRA:185)
IN THIS MONTH, ONE NIGHT (LAILATUL QADR) IS SUCH THAT IT IS BETTER AND MORE AUSPICIOUS THAN 1000 NIGHTS. (AL QADR:3)

Hazrat Salman RA says that the Holy Prophet (May peace be upon Him)said on the last date of Shaa’ban, that on you a month is coming , that is a big and holy month; in that month is one night that is better than a thousand months. Allah has made fasting compulsory for this month and made the prayer of night a reward.

Each day of this month is an important in the Islamic calendar and Muslims around the world observe the sacred month by fasting from dawn to dusk, performing nightly prayers, with offering daily obligatory prayers.

New Delhi, June 8: The holy month of Ramadan which is the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar has started and entered its second day. Each day of this month is an important in the Islamic calendar and Muslims around the world observe the sacred month by fasting from dawn to dusk, performing nightly prayers, with offering daily obligatory prayers and having food with family and friends. As soon as the month end a three-day holiday is celebrated worldwide with Eid-ul-Fitr and after that people prepare themselves to return to their regular daily routine.
Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam. The month of Ramadan also known as Ramzan in Asia is celebrated vastly as during this month the Holy Quran was revealed for mankind.

Ramadan is the most precious month in the Islamic calendar (Hijri) and it is obligatory for the Muslims to fast in the month of Ramadan. Here are some interesting and quick points that shows the importance of Ramadan in Islam.

 Allah has made fasting this month the fourth Pillar of Islam
 Allah revealed the Quran in this month
 Allah has made Laylat al-Qadr (The Night of Decree/Power) in this month, which is better than a thousand months
 Allah has made fasting Ramadan and spending its nights in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward a means of forgiveness of sins
 In this month, Allah opens the gates of Paradise and closes the gates of Hell, and chains up the devils
 Every night Allah has people whom He redeems from the Fire
 Fasting Ramadan is a means of expiation for the sins committed since the previous Ramadan, so long as one avoids major sins
 Fasting in Ramadan is equivalent to fasting ten months

Date Weekday Holiday Name Holiday Type

Jan 1 Sunday New Year's Day
National holiday
Mar 20 Monday March equinox
Season
Apr 23 Sunday National Sovereignty and Children's Day
National holiday
May 1 Monday Labor and Solidarity Day
National holiday
May 19 Friday Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day
National holiday
Jun 21 Wednesday June Solstice
Season
Jun 24 Saturday Ramadan Feast Eve
Half Day
Jun 25 Sunday Ramadan Feast
National holiday
Jun 26 Monday Ramadan Feast Day 2
Extra Public Holiday
Jun 27 Tuesday Ramadan Feast Day 3
Common Local holidays
Jul 15 Saturday Veterans' Day
Observance
Aug 30 Wednesday Victory Day
National holiday
Aug 31 Thursday Sacrifice Feast Eve
Half Day
Sep 1 Friday Sacrifice Feast
National holiday
Sep 2 Saturday Sacrifice Feast Day 2
National holiday
Sep 3 Sunday Sacrifice Feast Day 3
National holiday
Sep 4 Monday Sacrifice Feast Day 4
Extra Public Holiday
Sep 22 Friday September equinox
Season

Bayram is the Turkic word for a nationally-celebrated festival or holiday, applicable to both national (i.e. secular) and religious celebrations. In accordance with this dual applicability, the method with which one determines the yearly timing of Bayrams is different for national and religious holidays.
State holidays in Turkey have set dates under the nationally-used Gregorian Calendar, while the Islamic religious holidays are coordinated and publicly announced in advance by the Government's Presidency of Religious Affairs department according to the Lunar Calendar, and are subsequently accommodated into the national Gregorian Calendar, which results in the dates for religious holidays changing every year with a shift margin of approximately 11 days.

Muslims in Turkey along with other Muslim populations around the world are preparing to celebrate the Ramadan Feast on July 17, as the day marks the beginning of a three-day holy period in Islam as well as the end of a 30-day fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

All three days of the Ramadan Feast, from July 17 to July 19 this year, are national holidays in Turkey, while the status of Ramadan Feast Eve, which falls on July 16 this year, as a holiday remains unclear.

All public and private employees are off duty during the feast although street sellers, shops and a number of businesses remain at work, as people tend to shop more to buy gifts for their family, friends and relatives.

Most Muslims have fasted during Ramadan, eating only between sunset and sunrise, when there is no sunlight, which is considered a religious duty and essential in the Islamic faith.

The Sacrifice Feast in Turkey is a four-day religious festival. The Sacrifice Feast traditions in Turkey include sacrificing an animal in a special ritual, visiting relatives and helping the poor.

What Do People Do?
The Sacrifice Feast is one of the oldest Islamic holidays in Turkey. It commemorates the story about Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) who showed obedience to God by agreeing to sacrifice his son. God then sent him a ram to be sacrificed instead. The Sacrifice Feast comes about 70 days after the Ramadan Feast. According to old belief it is unlucky to get married or start a new business in the period between these two holidays.

Many people in Turkey renew their wardrobes and prepare traditional Ramadan desserts on the Ramadan Feast Eve. It is also an occasion to remember and honor the dead.
What Do People Do?
Many people spend the Ramadan Feast Eve preparing traditional desserts, such as baklava, to give to neighbors and friends during the Ramadan Feast. Some Turkish people shop for new clothes on this day, which they then wear during the holiday.
The Ramadan Feast Eve is also an occasion to honor the dead in many Turkish households. People may cook a special meal, pişi, which consists of large pieces of fried dough, and distribute it to neighbors and the poor in remembrance of their deceased relatives. It is also common to visit the cemetery on this day.
Public Life

How to observe it in its true spirit
Importance of self-reform and abstention from base desires
1. “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil.” (The Holy Quran, 2:183)
2. Allah says: “And when My servants ask you (O Prophet) about Me, surely I am nigh. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should hear My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.” (ibid., 2:186)
3. “And swallow not up your property among yourselves by false means, nor seek to gain access thereby to the authorities so that you may swallow up other people’s property wrongfully while you know.” (ibid., 2:188)
4. “He who does not give up uttering falsehood and acting according to it, God has no need of his giving up his food and drink.” (The Holy Prophet Muhammad)

Millions of Muslims around the world on Monday marked the start of Ramadan, a month of intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts. Others will begin fasting a day later, Tuesday, due to a moon-sighting methodology that can lead to different countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart.
Here are some questions and answers about Islam's holiest month:

Why Do Muslims Fast?
The fast is intended to bring the faithful closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of those less fortunate. Ramadan is a time to detach from worldly pleasures and focus on one's inner self.
It's seen as a way to physically and spiritually purify, refraining from habits such as smoking and caffeine. Muslims often donate to charities during the month and feed the hungry. Many spend more time at mosques during Ramadan and use their downtime to recite the Quran.

Fasting during the month of Ramadan (also spelled Ramadhan, Ramzan, Ramadhaan), is one of the five pillars of Submission (Islam in Arabic). In the month of Ramadan, submitters (muslims / moslems) fast from dawn to sunset (if able). While fasting (seyam / saum / sawm) during Ramadan, the individual refrains from eating and drinking and practices continence. It is a time of worship and contemplation and to fulfill God's commands and grow one's soul. A time to strengthen family and community ties, and be on our best behaviour.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. God revealed the Quran to the prophet Muhammad, on the twenty-seventh night of Ramadan (this night is also referred to as the Layl at-ul Qadr, or the Night of Destiny), 13 B.H. (before Hijrah). This corresponds to 610 AD.

Muslims – there are 1.6 billion in the world – believe Ramadan is the holiest month in the year , when the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, was revealed to the prophet Muhammad.
Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, or the Hijri calendar based on the lunar cycle, which began in AD622 when Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Medina.
When is Ramadan?
Depending on the sighting of the crescent moon, or hilal, the month begins this year on the evening of the Wednesday 17 June, which means Muslims will begin their first day of fasting at dawn on Thursday 18 June.
The month of fasting will end on either Friday 17 July or Saturday 18 July, as there are either 29 or 30 days in a lunar month.
As Ramadan begins about 11 days earlier each year, it sometimes falls in winter months when the fasts are short, and in summer months when the fasts are long.

Why do Muslims fast?

Ramadan is the name of the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar. It is an important month in the Islamic calendar and culture. Each day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world observe the sacred month by fasting during day light hours (from dawn to sunset), performing nightly prayers in addition to the daily obligatory prayers, and concluding each day’s fast over food with family and friends. At the end of the month is a three-day holiday that celebrates the conclusion of the month with Eid al-Fitr and prepares individuals to return to their regular daily routine.

Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam. “The month of Ramadan, during which the Qur’an was revealed, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance and the criterion; and whoever of you is resident, let him fast the month” (al-Qur’an, 2:185).

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It begins upon the visual sighting of the last full moon of the year and lasts 29 or 30 days, depending on the year. The holiday of Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the next lunar month.

THE PURPOSE OF RAMADAN
Ramadan is intended originated as an observation of the first revelation of the Qur'an to Prophet Mohammed.
During the blessed month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world abstain from all food, drink, and other physical needs during the daylight hours (such as smoking or sex). But Ramadan is much more than just not eating and drinking: it is a time to purify the soul, refocus attention on God and practice self-discipline and sacrifice.
THE PRACTICE