the fast ends (the first day of the month of Shawwal) it is celebrated for three days in a holiday called Id-al-Fitr (the Feast of Fast Breaking). Gifts are exchanged. Friends and family gather to pray in congregation and for large meals. In some cities fairs are held to celebrate the end of the Fast of Ramadan.
             From: http://www.holidays.net/ramadan/
             'He who fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeks his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven; he who prays during the night in Ramadan with faith and seeks his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven; and he who passes Lailat al- Qadr in prayer with faith and seeks his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven.'
             Gen 15:17-18 Before ever the seed of Abraham came into existence, the process leading to their ultimate bonding with the Lord was portrayed in terms of smoking furnace experiences. Such has been the history of this ancient people of God to this day. The Jew has been likened to the bush that burned but was not consumed. The story is all but told. The final chapter is now before us.
             Although it lies outside the seven months of the religious Feasts of the Lord established in the Law, Purim is a feast highly regarded by the Jews, commemorating deliverance from genocide of the Jewish race though the faith and courage of Mordecai and Esther (Esther 9:16-32). Purim derives its name from the "lot" (pur) which Haman cast in order to decide when he should carry into effect the decree issued by the king for the extermination of the Jews (Esther 9:24). It was celebrated on the fourteenth day of Adar (March) by those in villages and unwalled towns and on the fifteenth day by those in fortified cities (Esther 9:18,19). The Book of Esther is read in the synagogue on this day. It became a time for rejoicing and distribution of food and presents. Dramatic representations of the events in the account have accompanied this feast. None so dramatic as the scen...