Millennials share Ramadan experience on Snapchat

MANILA, Philippines – Snapchat has recently overtaken Twitter by 10 million in daily active users. A recent feature of Snapchat, Snapchat Live, allows users to post snaps connected to the event, dependent on time and location settings.

This year, Ramadan became one of the highlights of Snapchat Live. So let’s take a trip through these snaps and understand Ramadan through the eyes of millennials.

Ramadan is a month of fasting, spiritual reflection, and increased devotion. It is believed to be the month where Allah showered blessings to the people, specifically, the last revelation of Allah, the Quran.

It begins when a crescent new moon appears, dependent on the Hijrah, a lunar calendar followed by the Muslims. In the case of the Filipinos, they created a synchronized calendar for Ramadan in 2012.

Their day begins with Suhur, the pre-dawn meal. At this time, children sing to wake people up. People gather and eat as a community in preparation for the day. They load up on water much like this guy drinking straight from a tub.

They then proceed to the Fajr, which is the dawn prayer. In the Philippines, it changes over the month, but tomorrow, it is scheduled at 4:07 am. (READ: 5 facts about Ramadan) 

They pray two more times as the day passes and another two at night, but for our everyday millennials, every other minute in between is waiting for Iftar, the meal when the sun set, which marks the end of fasting. (READ: Stories of Ramadan) 

People then eat together during Ramadan nights in celebration of a day of Ramadan. And as the day comes to a close, the cycle repeats for the rest of the 27 days that remain in the month of Ramadan.

With similar practices such as prayer and fasting, the world’s religions are not too different after all. Ramadan Mubarak! – Rappler.com 

A student of the Ateneo de Manila University, Pocholo Espina is a Rappler intern.