Eid al-Fitr
August 8, 2013
Close your eyes. Connect with the people and the powerful harmonic. What do you see?
Eid al-Fitr, often abbreviated as simply Eid (pronounced like the letter "E"d) , is an Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Eid al-Fitr was originated by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Eid prayer is performed in congregation in open areas like fields, community centers, etc. or at mosques. It begins when the first crescent moon appears after the new moon, so it could be tonight or tomorrow night.
The Fast and the Not Necessarily Furious Ramadan Mood and Circadian Rhythms Scientific American - August 5, 2013
Researchers have been exploring whether circadian rhythms are out of sync with Ramadan's. For the majority of the year, Muslims begin the morning with a call to prayer followed by breakfast, a meal to break the previous night's fast. This, along with exposure to the light, sets the body's internal clock according to the solar day. During Ramadan, the Islamic lunar calendar's ninth month, observers abstain from food, liquid, and tobacco during daylight hours. Instead of the morning, fast is broken at sunset with iftar, following the evening call to prayer. Items prohibited during the day are permissible throughout the evening, and then the final meal, suhoor, is eaten before dawn. As a result, the normal order is reversed through the holy month; at night, when the body is normally ready to wind down, the month's late night festivities wind up the circadian clock. Body temperature and melatonin, a hormone that induces heat loss, normally follow a circadian rhythm. Throughout the day, the rise of body temperature and the inhibition of melatonin prompt wakefulness. Then, in the evening, body temperature falls while melatonin is secreted to induce sleepiness.
