Ramadan in Fez, Customs and Traditions Rooted in the Conscience of the Fassi People
Ramadan is the ninth month in the Hijri calendar, and it is a special month for Muslims.
Muslims fast during Ramadan from food and drink during the period between sunrise and sunset. The month of Ramadan is an important month in the Islamic calendar, it is considered as the month of goodness and charity.
The spiritual capital of the Moroccan Kingdom, Fez, is among the most important Moroccan cities that have distinct rituals and customs for the blessed month of Ramadan, and differs from other cities in preparations, and special rituals, which affect the daily life of Fassis, to show a transformation on all facades, by reducing movements during the day and replace it by the night, which is known for its vitality and activity until the time of Suhoor.
Preparations start in the city of Fez for the blessed month of Ramadan since the middle of Shaaban, to acquire what one needs of food and foodstuffs, related to preparing fancy sweets, such as "Slu", which is a paste of flour, butter, sugar, "faqas", a dessert made of eggs, sugar, flour and yeast, other ingredients can be added to it like sweet fruits and milk, "Brewat" a sweet or savory puff pastry, and "Shabakia" that is made from flour, honey, sesame, and rose water.
The most Moroccan popular dish is Al-Harira, it is a thick soup of chickpeas, lentils, and vermicelli mixed with coriander, parsley, celery, tomato and onion.
In addition to other foods such as "Baghrir" bread, a small, spongy and made with semolina or flour; when cooked correctly, it is riddled with tiny holes, and "Couscous", which is a popular favorite meal in Morocco.
The Fassi Ramadan table is one of the most enjoyable and well-known Arab tables, the Fassi family meets around it, full of delicious and pleasant food. You can learn how to prepare and how to make all these foods and sweets with Luxury Fes Tours in the Cooking Class program in Fez city, which is a class that gives you the chance to meet a local Chef and learn directly and specifically by his experienced hands.
After preparing these sweets, the families prepare to revive "Shabana", an old custom that is divided into two parts:
For the first "The Small Shaabanah”, it was in the two days or more before Ramadan, during which parents buy toys for children like "firecrackers", so that the celebration continues throughout the day, when families visit each other, and groups go up to the rooftops to ignite those crackers, expressing their joy at the coming of this great month.
As for “The Grand Shaabanah”, it starts on the day following Ramadan, where women and girls wear their most expensive and valuable traditional clothes and gather above the roofs to see the crescent moon.
Congratulations and prayers start among people as soon as they see the crescent moon from the northern tower of Fez Medina, which is the place in the Marinin Tower, then the seven artillery shots, then the voice of "Al-Zawagah", which is a sound that emanates from a machine that hears the entire city of musical resonance. On the rings of this music, the city of Fez breaks the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
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