Thousands of families have already started fasting and cooking dishes that are considered peculiar to Ramadan.
Muslims generally have to compensate for fasts they might have missed during the previous Ramadan. As a result, many women, who are not required to fast during menstruation and accouchement, wait until Shaaban to make up for missed fasts so they can begin Ramadan with a clean slate.
In most cases, if women are fasting then the men of the family also do the same.
With Ramadan and the annual school vacations coinciding, people have already begun to go out in the evening and sleep late, a habit that is normal in Ramadan.
“Although I did not miss any fasts last Ramadan, I still fast along with the women of my household because it makes fasting in Ramadan much easier,” said Abu Khaled, who is from Jeddah.
He added that it feels like Ramadan at his house because dishes and beverages that are peculiar to Ramadan are being prepared.
A salesman at a Ramadan stall that has already been set up said he opens his stall two weeks before Ramadan every year and that in the last 10 days of Shaaban he is able to sell a lot of juices, samosas, special sweetmeats and dates.
The Jeddah municipality has already issued temporary licenses to set up Ramadan stalls in all districts across the city. This helps many unemployed or low-income people to earn some money.
They, however, have to take special care not to litter streets and cause traffic problems.
Supermarkets have also begun to see the Ramadan buying fever, particularly since many people received their July salaries in the second half of Shaaban.
“We’re working overtime to cope with the rush of customers shopping for Ramadan. People are buying food items, drinks, pastries and sweetmeats in bulk,” said a cashier at a hypermarket.
Arab News visited two dates markets in Jeddah where many varieties of fresh and dry dates are on sale.
Customers are mainly stall owners from across the city and from nearby towns and villages.
Arab News also noticed that special Ramadan tournaments are also being held in many neighborhoods across the city.
The organizer of a football tournament said: “We started the tournament many days in advance because the number of participating teams are many and the matches have to end before the last week of Ramadan when people prefer to spend more time in worshipping.”
