With the arrival of Ramadan, I see a lot of people asking questions about the ‘festivities’ of Ramadan, particularly at the end of the fasting period, and the events ‘organised for the occasion’ (fantasia, or whatever). A trip to Morocco during Ramadan is bound to be different. Some people prefer to put it off, or expect widespread ‘celebrations’ when they leave.
There seems to be some confusion, no doubt linked to the word ‘festival’, which does not have the same meaning for Muslims as it does for tourists.
For a Muslim, there are only two festivals.
Two days, called Aïd El Kebir (the great feast) and also known as Aïd El Adha, or for Europeans the feast of the sheep, and Aïd el Fitr (the little feast), which corresponds to the three days following Ramadan. The other events are “festivities”, “festivals”, “whatever you want but not festivals“.
These festivities are very special (imagine having only Christmas and Easter, and nothing else), and are private. They are celebrated with family and close friends. Everything is closed and, contrary to what some people expect, there are no public events.
During these three days, no weddings will be celebrated, maybe a circumcision, but nothing, in fact, that can’t be postponed.
Firstly because people are tired, they’ve been fasting for a month, and this summer Ramadan will be particularly difficult, and they don’t have the energy for it.
Secondly, because Eid is celebrated with the family, people usually leave their place of work to go “to the boondocks” with their families. So we wouldn’t have the manpower to organise a big event. And people wouldn’t come, apart from tourists.
Events before and after Ramadan
The dates have therefore been changed. The Moulay Abdellah moussem, near El Jadida, has already taken place at the beginning of July, while the horse show will be held in September. The festival in Imilchil, which took place in August, will now be held in mid-September. This is to be expected, as most moussems have dates based on the Muslim calendar, which therefore shift, as does the date of Ramadan, and therefore remain as far away from Ramadan each year.
As for events that are not linked to the Muslim calendar, such as major festivals (Mawazine, Timitar) or the horse show, their dates are chosen each year taking Ramadan’s constraints into account.
So no Ramadan “exit party”
No fantasia (except private), no festival… but the possibility, especially outside the big cities, of experiencing a special moment, if you are invited by a family, or if you stay in a small hotel that will not close but will run a little on reduced service.
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Ramadan Kareem to everyone who reads this!
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