In RE, Year Two have been learning about two Islamic celebrations – Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. They have explored how Muslims celebrate each festival and compared them to other religious festivals.
First, the children learned about Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and begins after the sighting of the crescent moon. Did you know, during Ramadan, Muslims don’t eat from sunrise until sunset? This is to remind them of those less fortunate than themselves. The boys and girls thought about how this was similar to Lent – a time when Christians choose to give up something they like to remind them of Jesus’ time in the desert. During Ramadan, Muslims eat two meals – suhoor (before sunrise) and iftar (after sunset). The children created their own suhoor and iftar plates to show the types of food that might be eaten at each meal.
As well as fasting, Muslims do many other things during the month of Ramadan, including going to the mosque and carrying out acts of kindness. Muslims believe that helping others is a very important part of Ramadan. They might choose to give money to charity or give their time to help someone in need. Children often open Ramadan advent calendars, with each door revealing an act of kindness. The children instantly realised how this was similar to their preparations for Christmas. To demonstrate all they had learned, Year Two created a Ramadan information booklet which included facts about key aspects of the religious festival.
Eid al-Fitr means “festival of breaking the fast” and is celebrated at the end of Ramadan. The boys and girls wrote sentences to explain some of the things Muslims do to celebrate, including decorating their homes with lanterns. Using tissue paper, the children created their own lanterns perfect for an Eid al-Fitr celebration. During the festival, Muslims also exchange gifts and share a meal with their friends and family. The children considered how this is similar to another religious festival – Christmas. They matched and sorted pictures to show the similarities and differences between the two.
