The Muslim holy month of Ramadan will begin today, March 11 or tomorrow, Tuesday, March 12, depending on the sighting of the new moon in Saudi Arabia.

Depending on which part of the world you are in, the dawn-to-dusk fast lasts anywhere from 12 to 17 hours, with the average in Portugal of 14 hours. This is due to the amount of daylight hours varying across the world.

The Ramadan celebrations in Portugal are expected to last until the 9 April, when a new Islamic lunar month – the Shawwal – will begin.


What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is the month when Muslims believe that the first verses of the holy book, the Quran, were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad more than 1,400 years ago.

During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations during the daylight hours. During the hours of fasting Muslims dedicate their time to prayer and charitable actions. This fasting is to achieve a greater "taqwa" or a greater consciousness of God (Allah).

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Why is Ramadan on a different date each year?

Generally, Ramadan starts 10-12 days earlier each year. This is due to the fact that the Islamic calendar is different and is based on the lunar Hijri calendar which has calendar months that are 29 or 30 days in length.

In 2030, Muslims will observe Ramadan twice in one year. This is because the lunar calendar is shorter than the solar calendar by 11 days. So in 2030, Muslims will observe Ramadan first at the beginning of January and the second Ramadan will be at the end of December (in the same year).