Chand Raat

Muslims in Pakistan look for the new moon that marks the end of Ramadan

Chand Raat ( Bengali চাঁদ রাত , Urdu چاند رات, Hindi चाँद रात ; literally "night of the moon") is in Bengali, Urdu and Hindi in Bangladesh , Pakistan and India as a rhetorical stylistic device the designation of the eve of the Islamic festival of breaking the fast (Eid al-Fitr). It can also mean new moon night for the new Islamic month of Shawwāl .

Chand Raat is a time of celebration when friends and families come together on the last day of Ramadan to seek the new moon . The sighting of the new moon indicates the Islamic month of Shawwāl . After the sighting, people congratulate themselves with Chand Raat Mubarak (“I wish a blessed after the new moon”) or Eid Mubarak (“Blessed Eid day”). Women and girls paint their hands with mehndi and use the last day of Ramadan for shopping and cooking. Shops are decorated with garlands and fairy lights on the occasion of Chand Raat and are open late into the night. The celebrations around Chand Raat throughout South Asia by Muslims (and non-Muslims) can be compared in their socio-cultural significance with the celebrations around Christmas Eve .

etymology

Chand Raat is composed of the words for moon ( Sanskrit चंद्र candrá ) and night ( Sanskrit रात्रि rā́tri ).

background

The Chand Raat celebrations begin on the eve of the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast , which is celebrated on the first day of Shawwāl . The beginning of Ramadan depends on the sighting of the moon. In Pakistan, the sighting is announced by the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee . The committee was established in Pakistan in 1974. He is headed by a mufti who is supported by 150 weather observation stations of the Pakistani Meteorological Service. The festivities on Chand Raat are larger than those on the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice (Eid ul-Adha).

Festivities

Shopping street during the Chand Raat in Hyderabad, India

Hands painted with mehndi on the occasion of Chand Raat

The Chand Raat festivities begin with the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee announcing the sighting of the new moon. The sighting will be announced in mosques, on the radio and on television. The celebration begins almost immediately after this and continues until the morning Fajr prayer . Banks, markets, government buildings and mosques are decorated with fairy lights. Whole families visit local shopping malls, bazaars and markets during Chand Raat. Women buy traditional clothes salwar kameez , jewelry, handbags and Churiyaa called bangles. Men use Chand Raat to buy shoes. The children are given toys, while friends are given gifts and sweets. Beauty salons and hairdressers are very busy on the evening of Chand Raat in preparation for the festival of the breaking of the fast. Women and girls decorate their hands with the ornamental henna painting Mehndi . Chand Raat is also used to meet with more distant relatives and friends.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jamila Achakzai: 'Chand Raat' is here again. In: thenews.com.pk. June 25, 2017, accessed December 2, 2018 . 
2. ^ Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit. In: spokensanskrit.org. Retrieved December 2, 2018 . 
3. ^ Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit. In: spokensanskrit.org. Retrieved December 2, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Kristin E. Holmes: Muslims look to new moon for the start of Ramadan, but few saw it this year. In: philly.com. May 16, 2018, accessed December 2, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Arunav Sinha: 'Chaand Raat' (Eid Moon Night), when night turns into day. In: tornosindia.com. August 2011, accessed December 2, 2018 . 
6. ↑ Yasmine Hafiz: Chaand Raat! Beautiful Henna Designs To Celebrate The End Of Ramadan. In: huffingtonpost.com. July 28, 2014, accessed December 2, 2018 . 
7. ↑ SK Pakistan: 13 Times Pakistanis Go Wild On Every Chaand Raat - SHUGHAL. In: shughal.com. July 16, 2015, accessed December 2, 2018 .