Afterwards, it is common for people to go out and walk around the streets, usually staying out until the early morning and making the city bustling once again. However, the quarantine regulations have shifted these traditional plans. Gatherings are more muted because they now have to be so much smaller. While this has put a damper on the celebrations, Jordan has seen the effects of what happens if these regulations are broken in the name of Ramadan: recently, a truck driver who was undergoing testing for Coronavirus held a large iftar and ended up testing positive for COVID-19, which put many people at risk of infection. This incident has set Jordan back in the fight against Coronavirus, with as many as 20 new cases a day where we previously had no new cases for eight days straight.
The closest thing to Ramadan that people in America may be familiar with is Lent the forty day fasting period celebrated in the Christian church. Ramadan is the holy month for Muslims and allows those who practice to reflect on their lives and themselves; this time allows a person to figure out their previous bad habits and to find a way of letting these behaviors go by the end of Ramadan. Fasting is a "pillar" (main part) of Islam, and fasting is seen as an act of worshipping God. Seeing how close Arab communities are to their religion, especially the communities I see in Jordan, it makes sense that Muslims take this month as a way to get closer and celebrate their religion further.
