While braving rain, wind, and 60-degree temperatures, the Fireballs played the Wild Bobcats this morning. In the Under-7 league they don’t keep score or announce a winner but Aliya scored 3 goals. The weather conditions were less than ideal for the spectators, but we toughed it out to support our team. Yay Fireballs!!

Ben decided to stay home again today and Norah went to day care so it was a very productive day at the Greenabderrazak residence. Work, laundry, cleaning, a big meal for breaking the fast…what could be better than that? Grandma Ginny and Grampa B arrived for a visit this afternoon so the kids were wild. I was happy to see bedtime arrive.

Tomorrow is Baby Norah’s first birthday…very hard to believe. On January 4th, 2006, when I got the shock of my life, I wouldn’t have believed that I’d make it to this day without losing my mind or going bankrupt. It has been a very expensive year for day care and an extremely chaotic year at 12 OCP, but we survived and Norah is a beautiful, happy, determined, little girl. Our lives wouldn’t be the same without her. She has truly made our family complete and we all adore her.

If anyone would like to include something in Norah’s time capsule, let me know or just send it along. As with Adlani and Aliya’s, it could be anything from the first year of her life, and/or a letter from you to Norah, to be opened on her 18th birthday. I’ll be sealing it and burying it in the yard with the others by October 15th. I hope I don’t accidentally dig up Leo (the cat). Just kidding…they’re buried in the closet, not in the yard (the cat IS in the yard).

No, we haven’t suddenly become a tri-denominational family, but we are celebrating the Jewish New Year with two days off from school. Yay. It’s a good thing my job is flexible because even though Ben stayed home today I didn’t get much work done. Aliya, Norah, and I went to Next Generation for a visit and saw a bunch of our favorite teachers and staff. Then we did a few errands and took Auntie Monica to lunch at Firefly’s for her birthday. The $8.99 lunch buffet was great! In the afternoon I made harira, while also answering emails and voice mails. It looks like I’ll be working third shift tonight. Zoe and I rounded out the day by dropping in on an obedience class at Alpha Dog K9. I was very obedient but Zoe was a little distracted by all of the other dogs, particularly a 5-pounder who I’m sure was very confusing to her (“…hmmmm….it smells like a dog, but it looks like a squirrel…I wonder what it tastes like…”). It was the first time in recent history that she had been with lots of other dogs but she did pretty well.

Tomorrow is the first day of Ramadan. Here are some answers to your frequently asked questions:

What’s the significance of Ramadan?
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims believe that it was in this month in 610 A.D., that Allah (God) revealed the first verses of the Qur’an (Koran – the holy book of Islam) via the angel Gabriel to the prophet Mohammed. It is a month of blessing that includes prayer, fasting, and charity, and is a time for reflection, devotion to God, and self-control, and a month that Muslims can connect with the teachings of the Qur’an.

What are the rules of Ramadan?
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims may not eat, drink, smoke, or have sexual contact while the sun is shining. Ben typically wakes up early, before sunrise (5:06 a.m. tomorrow), and eats bread, eggs, harira (soup), or whatever he can scrounge up. He can’t eat or drink (including water) again until sunset (7:00 p.m. tomorrow). At sunset he will have “breakfast”, which typically consists of dates, harira, bread, cheese, beef salami, hard-boiled eggs, coffee, orange juice, and sometimes cookies, pancakes, or other treats. After breaking the fast he can eat or drink anything until sunrise the next day and there are often gatherings of friends and family to break the fast and socialize. The fast is repeated for 30 days.

What’s the purpose of fasting?
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims show their devotion to God by fasting, which is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. Fasting for this purpose is practiced in other religions as well. Ramadan is a time for Muslims to think about those who are less fortunate and to experience hunger in sympathy for those without food in order to gain thankfulness and appreciation for what they have.

What are the 5 pillars of Islam?
Faith – That there is only one God and Mohammed is his messenger.
Prayer – Five times daily, at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and nightfall.
Zakat – Giving to those in need.
The Fast – From first light to sundown for the 30 days of Ramadan.
Hajj – The pilgrimage to Mecca, which must be made at least once in a Muslim’s lifetime.

Do all Muslims have to fast?
People who are sick, elderly, traveling, pregnant, nursing, or menstruating can break the fast and make up an equal number of days later in the year. If they can not do this, they must feed a needy person for each day of fasting they missed.

Do the kids fast?
Kids typically start fasting when they hit puberty. I have fasted a day here and there but I don’t fast for the whole month. I’m not Muslim but if we’re having a family gathering to break the fast sometimes I feel more like a part of the group if I’ve fasted too.

What are the consequences of NOT fasting?
If you accidentally break the fast (for example, if you don’t realize that Ramadan starts tomorrow and you eat after sunrise), you just have to make up the day of fasting at a later date. If you knowingly break the fast, you have to fast for 60 consecutive days (in addition to Ramadan) or feed 60 people in need. Traditionally, the third option was to free a slave but unless you count me, we don’t have any of those.

When does Ramadan end?
Since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, the dates for Ramadan vary. Each month begins with the sighting of the new moon. Since the lunar calendar is about 11 days shorter than the solar calendar, Ramadan arrives about 11 days earlier each year. This year, Ramadan will end around October 13th, depending on the moon sighting. The celebration at the end of Ramadan is called Eid-el-Fitr. On that day the kids get new outfits and families and friends get together to eat and socialize. It is customary to give small amounts of money to all of the kids you see at the social gatherings that day.

Does Ben lose weight during Ramadan?
A little, but it comes back.

Is it appropriate to say “Happy Ramadan”?
In Arabic you would say “Ramadan Mabrouk” which means something like “I hope you’re having a good Ramadan.” It’s not inappropriate to say “Happy Ramadan” but it’s not the norm. It IS inappropriate to say, “Hey Dude…you must be REALLY hungry!”