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The writer had to attend a standup with a colleague in Norway to realize this and write an article. Funnily enough, as a Muslim I get reminded about this annual

The writer had to attend a standup with a colleague in Norway to realize this and write an article. Funnily enough, as a Muslim I get reminded about this annually during Ramadan, which is right now. First of Ramadan this year coincided with March 1, and it was a 12:45 hours of fasting from the first light of dawn to sunset at my location, also near Los Angeles. Today it's going to be 13:15 hours long, and by the time last of Ramadan rolls in around the end of March, it will be 13:37 hours. Ramadan is observed following the lunar calendar, which is shorter than solar- based calendars by about 10 days. A winter Ramadan is short and easy in the northern hemisphere and we will have the shortest days in 2031. 2047 it's going to be middle of summer, so the hardest. In case you ask, well what about places where sun does not set? When do you have your Suhoor (meal before dawn) and iftar (breakfast meal at sunset)? Opinions differ, but people usually follow the more realistic time of sunrise and sunset at a reference location. My brother in law was in Sweden few years back and he used the time of Mecca as reference.

speakspokespok 2y ago
So you have to plan your daily routine around the rules of Ramadan, and their interpretation differ by your location and from year to year?
- rat9988 2y ago
  My routine changes depending on location and the year anyway.
- travisjungroth 2y ago
  Solar calendar user, meet lunar calendar user.
  - thaumasiotes 2y ago
    I'm not seeing how the time of sunrise and sunset differ according to whether your calendar follows the sun or the moon. Ramadan wanders through the solar year, sometimes occurring in the summer, sometimes in the winter, because it is scheduled according to the lunar cycle. But the fact that Stockholm has a lot more daylight during summer than Mecca does is just a consequence of the layout of the Earth. They both have summer at the same time. The effects are what's different.
    - travisjungroth 2y ago
      If you use a solar calendar, the difference would only be by location. Solar calendar users already experience that. It applies for day-to-day stuff, but I actually can't think of any events explicitly tied to sunrise/sunset in a Western/Christian calendar. So you really need that to experience the full extreme, which Ramadan has. Jewish holidays have that too, with the new day starting at sunset. But the calendar is lunisolar, so it wobbles buts doesn't drift. Islamic calendar has maximum differences.
      - bloppe 2y ago
        That's why people who use lunar calendars tend to live closer to the equator, where the annual effects of the Earth's tilt are negligible and the lunar cycle is much more noticeable
      - achierius 2y ago
        Before the modern era, Christian countries also demarcated their hours according to sunrise and sunset; even today, Catholic and Orthodox monasteries and seminaries use these for the Liturgy of the Hours. https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgy-of-the-hours https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgy-of-the-hour...
        deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
        AStonesThrow 2y ago
        I suppose they do/did, but quite an unfamiliar practice out here in Phoenix. Rome today: https://wdtprs.com/2024/04/rome-24-3-day-13-14-easter-tuesday-and-wednesday-quaeritur-the-ave-maria-bell-explained-even-too-much/ https://wdtprs.com/2024/04/rome-24-3-day-13-14-easter-tuesda... Any public liturgy around here is fixed to civil time so that normal laypeople can join.
    - antasvara 2y ago
      >Ramadan wanders through the solar year, sometimes occurring in the summer, sometimes in the winter, because it is scheduled according to the lunar cycle. To be honest, that's the difference people are talking about (at least to my understanding). Because Ramadan follows a lunar calendar, the sunrise on the first day of Ramadan in Stockholm could happen anywhere from ~3:30am to ~8:45am depending on the year. If I were using a lunar calendar as my actual calendar, the first day of the year would also have a sunrise time that varied significantly.
- Ozzie_osman 2y ago
  Yes! You should also look into how pro athletes handle the logistics of fasting and competing (eg Kyrie, Mo Salah, and many others).
  - madcaptenor 2y ago
    I saw some things recently about how Hakeem Olajuwon fasted during Ramadan and generally his performance was just as good during Ramadan as during the rest of the season, which is really impressive.
- esalman 2y ago
  Yeah. Just trivial Muslim problems. Yesterday I had a flight from San Jose to LA. I didn't really plan for Ramadan when I booked the flight. I was scheduled to land at LAX at 6.45pm, about 25 minutes before iftar LA time. The plan was to land, have something light at the terminal then drive 1 hour back to my place. Well the flight got delayed about 25 minutes. It was going to land about 10 minutes after sunset. I was debating whether to buy something to eat before boarding. But then I can't have the tray open and eat when the plane is landing. I ended up breaking fast in the LAX terminal but around 30 minutes after I originally planned to. Its really nice flying during sunset though, the pink sky around LA was gorgeous.
  - walrus01 2y ago
    Depending on the specific school of fiqh that the commenter follows, he could have also been totally fine not fasting at all if traveling more than 80 km beyond his home. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&channel=entpr&q=islam+fasting+during+travel https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&channel=ent...
    - esalman 2y ago
      That's right! People who are used to fasting don't want to miss out regardless. I mean you get the best type of food in Ramadan which for some reason people don't make the rest of the year.
- yonatan8070 2y ago
  As an Israeli, on Friday and Saturday the train/bus schedule changes based on the time Sabbath starts (which is, iirc, when 3 stars are visible in the sky), meaning that in winter there's like one or two trains really late (like 22:00-23:00) on Saturday, and in summer there's like four or five, starting at a more reasonable time than 23:00.
  - widforss 2y ago
    I don't understand. The stars come out earlier in winter, but the train starts later? And wouldn't the trains rather stop when the Sabbath starts?
    - yonatan8070 2y ago
      Sorry I got the words mixed up, wrote this too early lol.. Sabbath starts on Friday, so trains end in the noon/afternoon, and start after Sabbath ends on Saturday evening/night.
pm3003 2y ago
Living among Muslim and Catholic people in a time of simultaneous Lent and Ramadan, I first read "How the Fast Days are getting longer" and thought "How true, how true".
- BLKNSLVR 2y ago
  As a middle-aged human I first read "How the Fast Days are getting longer" as some kind of ironic commentary with the actual meaning being "how fast the days are getting shorter".
  - user_7832 2y ago
    As a younger human I too clicked here thinking it was social commentary on the passage of time.
    - Delk 2y ago
      My initial assumption before clicking was that it was about the Earth's slowing rotation, and my thought was "not very".
  - rzzzt 2y ago
    If you would like to read some "time moves quicker" articles: "Why time 'speeds up' as we get older" - https://sites.harvard.edu/sitn/2019/03/27/no-not-just-time-speeds-get-older/ https://sites.harvard.edu/sitn/2019/03/27/no-not-just-time-s... - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29109066 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29109066 "Why time seems to pass faster as we age" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39522249 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39522249
    - xvokcarts 2y ago
      I think it speeds up because we settle in a routine, and when every day is mostly the same the brain just compresses the experience. The younger you are, the more new everything is around you, and you may not know yet what is worth trying or not, hence more things happen, and that makes it appear to last longer.
walrus01 2y ago
An interesting thing that non-muslims may not consider is that because Ramadan goes backwards in the western calendar approx. 10 days per year, for many people it'll be only a few times in their total lifespan when they experience and remember it being in the middle of summer and also in the middle of winter.
- esalman 2y ago
  This. I was a high schooler when I had winter Ramadan. Next time that happens in 2031 I'll be 46, and 62 in 2047 when it's in the middle of summer. If I'm lucky I might get one more winter Ramadan in 2063 or something, InshaAllah
crossroadsguy 2y ago
I am heading to the local cafe right now. This is the only time of the year they make Special Ramadan Phirni and they don't even share that exact recipe. I have begged them many times: either make it year round or for just give me the bloody recipe.
- esalman 2y ago
  In Bangladesh we also make a bunch of different dishes only in Ramadan. I mean they are made all year round in restaurants, but in Ramadan every Muslim household and street corner vendors will make them- haleem (lentil soup with meat), piyaju/beguni (deep fried snacks made of onions, lentils and eggplant etc.), bundia/jalebi (desserts), sola-muri (chickpea dish with puffed rice), "rooh afza" beverage to name a few. Even my non-muslim friends would crave some of these dishes and look forward to Ramadan to enjoy these.
- AStonesThrow 2y ago
  > bloody recipe. How apropos and now I'm curious how many English speakers don’t really consider how a “mildly profane” adjective had its start as a blasphemous slur against the Eucharist and a certain Queen?
MarceliusK 2y ago
It's fascinating how religious practices, like fasting from dawn to sunset, can make astronomical events feel so much more immediate and personal

speakspokespok 2y ago

So you have to plan your daily routine around the rules of Ramadan, and their interpretation differ by your location and from year to year?

rat9988 2y ago
My routine changes depending on location and the year anyway.
travisjungroth 2y ago
Solar calendar user, meet lunar calendar user.
- thaumasiotes 2y ago
  I'm not seeing how the time of sunrise and sunset differ according to whether your calendar follows the sun or the moon. Ramadan wanders through the solar year, sometimes occurring in the summer, sometimes in the winter, because it is scheduled according to the lunar cycle. But the fact that Stockholm has a lot more daylight during summer than Mecca does is just a consequence of the layout of the Earth. They both have summer at the same time. The effects are what's different.
  - travisjungroth 2y ago
    If you use a solar calendar, the difference would only be by location. Solar calendar users already experience that. It applies for day-to-day stuff, but I actually can't think of any events explicitly tied to sunrise/sunset in a Western/Christian calendar. So you really need that to experience the full extreme, which Ramadan has. Jewish holidays have that too, with the new day starting at sunset. But the calendar is lunisolar, so it wobbles buts doesn't drift. Islamic calendar has maximum differences.
    - bloppe 2y ago
      That's why people who use lunar calendars tend to live closer to the equator, where the annual effects of the Earth's tilt are negligible and the lunar cycle is much more noticeable
    - achierius 2y ago
      Before the modern era, Christian countries also demarcated their hours according to sunrise and sunset; even today, Catholic and Orthodox monasteries and seminaries use these for the Liturgy of the Hours. https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgy-of-the-hours https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgy-of-the-hour...
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
      - AStonesThrow 2y ago
        I suppose they do/did, but quite an unfamiliar practice out here in Phoenix. Rome today: https://wdtprs.com/2024/04/rome-24-3-day-13-14-easter-tuesday-and-wednesday-quaeritur-the-ave-maria-bell-explained-even-too-much/ https://wdtprs.com/2024/04/rome-24-3-day-13-14-easter-tuesda... Any public liturgy around here is fixed to civil time so that normal laypeople can join.
  - antasvara 2y ago
    >Ramadan wanders through the solar year, sometimes occurring in the summer, sometimes in the winter, because it is scheduled according to the lunar cycle. To be honest, that's the difference people are talking about (at least to my understanding). Because Ramadan follows a lunar calendar, the sunrise on the first day of Ramadan in Stockholm could happen anywhere from ~3:30am to ~8:45am depending on the year. If I were using a lunar calendar as my actual calendar, the first day of the year would also have a sunrise time that varied significantly.
Ozzie_osman 2y ago
Yes! You should also look into how pro athletes handle the logistics of fasting and competing (eg Kyrie, Mo Salah, and many others).
- madcaptenor 2y ago
  I saw some things recently about how Hakeem Olajuwon fasted during Ramadan and generally his performance was just as good during Ramadan as during the rest of the season, which is really impressive.
esalman 2y ago
Yeah. Just trivial Muslim problems. Yesterday I had a flight from San Jose to LA. I didn't really plan for Ramadan when I booked the flight. I was scheduled to land at LAX at 6.45pm, about 25 minutes before iftar LA time. The plan was to land, have something light at the terminal then drive 1 hour back to my place. Well the flight got delayed about 25 minutes. It was going to land about 10 minutes after sunset. I was debating whether to buy something to eat before boarding. But then I can't have the tray open and eat when the plane is landing. I ended up breaking fast in the LAX terminal but around 30 minutes after I originally planned to. Its really nice flying during sunset though, the pink sky around LA was gorgeous.
- walrus01 2y ago
  Depending on the specific school of fiqh that the commenter follows, he could have also been totally fine not fasting at all if traveling more than 80 km beyond his home. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&channel=entpr&q=islam+fasting+during+travel https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&channel=ent...
  - esalman 2y ago
    That's right! People who are used to fasting don't want to miss out regardless. I mean you get the best type of food in Ramadan which for some reason people don't make the rest of the year.
yonatan8070 2y ago
As an Israeli, on Friday and Saturday the train/bus schedule changes based on the time Sabbath starts (which is, iirc, when 3 stars are visible in the sky), meaning that in winter there's like one or two trains really late (like 22:00-23:00) on Saturday, and in summer there's like four or five, starting at a more reasonable time than 23:00.
- widforss 2y ago
  I don't understand. The stars come out earlier in winter, but the train starts later? And wouldn't the trains rather stop when the Sabbath starts?
  - yonatan8070 2y ago
    Sorry I got the words mixed up, wrote this too early lol.. Sabbath starts on Friday, so trains end in the noon/afternoon, and start after Sabbath ends on Saturday evening/night.

pm3003 2y ago

Living among Muslim and Catholic people in a time of simultaneous Lent and Ramadan, I first read "How the Fast Days are getting longer" and thought "How true, how true".

BLKNSLVR 2y ago
As a middle-aged human I first read "How the Fast Days are getting longer" as some kind of ironic commentary with the actual meaning being "how fast the days are getting shorter".
- user_7832 2y ago
  As a younger human I too clicked here thinking it was social commentary on the passage of time.
  - Delk 2y ago
    My initial assumption before clicking was that it was about the Earth's slowing rotation, and my thought was "not very".
- rzzzt 2y ago
  If you would like to read some "time moves quicker" articles: "Why time 'speeds up' as we get older" - https://sites.harvard.edu/sitn/2019/03/27/no-not-just-time-speeds-get-older/ https://sites.harvard.edu/sitn/2019/03/27/no-not-just-time-s... - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29109066 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29109066 "Why time seems to pass faster as we age" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39522249 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39522249
  - xvokcarts 2y ago
    I think it speeds up because we settle in a routine, and when every day is mostly the same the brain just compresses the experience. The younger you are, the more new everything is around you, and you may not know yet what is worth trying or not, hence more things happen, and that makes it appear to last longer.

walrus01 2y ago

An interesting thing that non-muslims may not consider is that because Ramadan goes backwards in the western calendar approx. 10 days per year, for many people it'll be only a few times in their total lifespan when they experience and remember it being in the middle of summer and also in the middle of winter.

esalman 2y ago
This. I was a high schooler when I had winter Ramadan. Next time that happens in 2031 I'll be 46, and 62 in 2047 when it's in the middle of summer. If I'm lucky I might get one more winter Ramadan in 2063 or something, InshaAllah

crossroadsguy 2y ago

I am heading to the local cafe right now. This is the only time of the year they make Special Ramadan Phirni and they don't even share that exact recipe. I have begged them many times: either make it year round or for just give me the bloody recipe.

esalman 2y ago
In Bangladesh we also make a bunch of different dishes only in Ramadan. I mean they are made all year round in restaurants, but in Ramadan every Muslim household and street corner vendors will make them- haleem (lentil soup with meat), piyaju/beguni (deep fried snacks made of onions, lentils and eggplant etc.), bundia/jalebi (desserts), sola-muri (chickpea dish with puffed rice), "rooh afza" beverage to name a few. Even my non-muslim friends would crave some of these dishes and look forward to Ramadan to enjoy these.
AStonesThrow 2y ago
> bloody recipe. How apropos and now I'm curious how many English speakers don’t really consider how a “mildly profane” adjective had its start as a blasphemous slur against the Eucharist and a certain Queen?

MarceliusK 2y ago

It's fascinating how religious practices, like fasting from dawn to sunset, can make astronomical events feel so much more immediate and personal