Samira Adnan Awad, a Jordanian journalist on Al Jazeera Net, tells us her beautiful memories of Ramadan, the old days in Jordan, and the customs and traditions that distinguish “Starchy”Where she began her speech to Qatari media, saying: Ramadan comes, so childhood memories pour out in this blessed month, where the family gathers, stays up until dawn, and our fasting rituals.
“Minaret steps” That is, the number of hours we fasted as children. We gradually fast according to our age, and bragging about who among us can complete more hours. Buying qataef, the most popular Ramadan sweet in Jordan, is a daily ritual that I used to practice during the month of fasting, as I was the eldest daughter in the family, so that I could learn early on how to stuff it, and keep an unstuffed piece for after iftar.
Ramadan is a time, and Mrs. Samira continued, one of the most prominent traditions in Ramadan is waiting for the cannon, announcing the date of Iftar, where the children of the neighborhood gather to sing together the Zagroda of Iftar, after which they run to their homes to enjoy the delicacies of the Ramadan trip, which includes what the mother prepared, as well as what the neighbors prepared through the dishes that move between the houses A carrier of new flavors for the trip.
Ramadan was a time when it was sweet to fast and pray, and to follow the quizzes, and a few series broadcast by local television stations, and the beauty of the month of Ramadan increases with the Ramadan family banquets, where most families (resolved or invited) when people were more simple and without expensive tables, and the relationship of the ties of kinship was the most in Ramadan. Where the main gathering takes place in the grandfather’s house, and the invitations of uncles, aunts, uncles and aunts are answered, where adults and children break their fast amid intimate family conversations that reflect love, and this custom still exists in Jordan.
Ramadan food and drinks Mrs. Samira said: We are no longer children, we have grown up and we are the ones who prepare the table for the family. While we were young, the mother – may God have mercy on her – prepared breakfast food that met everyone’s tastes, while the father – may God have mercy on him – says to her: “Increase the broth, we may have guests, cook more than one, we are fasting…”, in a dialogue that continues throughout the month over the breakfast and suhoor meals, as we used to sleep and wake up to eat it.
The main ingredients of the trip include meat, grains, vegetables, and sweets. Among the most famous foods are mansaf, musakhan, upside down, trays, and stuffed. It is interesting that many families choose white or green at the beginning of Ramadan, with the hope that it will return to us in the coming years and our days will be green and blooming and beautiful white. And she continues: “Usually, breakfast begins with water and dates, with the necessary presence of homemade Ramadan drinks, including: liquorice, tamarind and Qamar al-Din. The presence of a dish of fattoush with vegetables and toasted bread is considered a daily guest on the Ramadan table. As for soup, it is often prepared with lentils, freekeh, or vegetables. Arabic coffee with cardamom is considered one of the necessities of the daily Jordanian Ramadan trip, which is drunk with Ramadan sweets, including Qatayef, Awama, Kunafa, and others..and many mothers And Jordanian housewives are now introducing many modern cooking methods, or new flavors, due to the cooking channels and its pages .. This is what I am doing now, and among the favorite dishes of my family are chicken with thyme, lemon and vegetables in the oven, and it can be served alongside bread, pepper rice or pasta. Ramadan gathering and added: “The beauty of the month increases with banquets and Ramadan evenings for family, relatives and friends, where meeting on one trip strengthens bonds, brings blessings and brings hearts together. When we were in Jordan, we used to hold 4 Ramadan banquets that gathered family and friends on our weekly days off, being an employee, and on other days we answered the invitations of loved ones in their homes”. And she continued: “Now that we have been living in Doha Al-Khair since the beginning of 2015, my husband and I are still very keen on holding these banquets on a daily basis, as we insist on sharing Iftar with our relatives in Qatar, especially for the young men and women who work here, away from their families in Jordan, in a family atmosphere. It includes Maghrib prayer at home, then going to Isha and Tarawih prayers in the mosque, and then returning home on a Ramadan evening, punctuated by the exchange of friendly conversations, and video and audio communications with our people in Jordan, Palestine and the rest of the world, and of course it is interspersed with Arabic coffee and Ramadan sweets. new habits she said: “Before the month of Ramadan, we make some changes in the house, where a prayer corner is allocated, which includes the Qur’an, prayer rugs and clothing, in addition to decorating the house with crescents, stars and lighting ropes, distributing lanterns in the corners of the house, placing mattresses that are distinguished by their traditional drawings on the tables, and placing boards written on them “Ramadan kareem”, “Ramadan Mubarak”. This is to provide a remarkable Ramadan weather for our four grandchildren: Taim, Samira, and Teen. Kinan – may God protect them – introduces them to the month of fasting and paves the way for their fasting later, as Taim (5 years old) started fasting for a few hours as a kind of gradual training on fasting, while Samira (4 years old) fasts for one hour”. And she added: “And every Ramadan we are keen on family reunion, as my son Muhammad and his children, who currently lives in America, come annually to share with us the blessed month of Ramadan. My husband, Raouf Saad, and I are keen to make Ramadan memories with our children Muhammad and Assaad, their wives (our daughters Duaa and Areej) and our grandchildren as well, by performing prayers and devotion, and spending beautiful times together, starting with our collective participation in developing a proposal for daily food items, as well as preparing and cooking it, and arranging the dining table And it is a real pleasure when the kitchen is a beehive every day before breakfast, and it does not end with eating food, but rather remains in our memories and hearts, forming and consecrating the meaning of “Family taste”. She pointed out that one of the most beautiful family times is sharing cooking in the family home, where the tasks are complementary, and the details are different as well, where the questions begin: Do I put hot or sweet peppers, and is this soup enough or not? Do I fry more kibbeh and samosas? Square, and do I put the juice on the table, and among these daily repeated questions.. and the repeated answers as well, which stop with the rise of the Maghrib call to prayer, announcing God is great.. so that the veins become wet and the reward is confirmed.. and we conclude a day of acceptable fasting, God willing. Making Qataifs Another ritual that I make sure of most days is making Qataifs at home, where I prepare their dough, pour them (bake them) and stuff them with cheese and nuts. Garangao night concluded: “This is my ninth Ramadan in beloved Qatar, and one of the Qatari Ramadan activities that I loved most here, and I eagerly await it, is Garangao – the night of the middle of Ramadan, for which I allocate a corner in the house starting from the 10th of Ramadan, where we prepare beautiful boxes and colorful bags filled with sweets and nuts, and simple gifts Such as small lanterns for my grandchildren and the children of friends and neighbors, where we invite the children of the residential complex to go from house to house carrying bags of Garangao, to celebrate with us to the tune of the Garangao song.. The presence of Ramadan decorations and the Garangao corner in our house continues until the Night of Power is revived, after which preparations for Eid Al Fitr begin. And preparing his own decorations and sweets, which include cakes with dates and nuts”.
