# How do muslims in the far north handle Ramadan when it's in June? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 12, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-muslims-in-the-far-north-handle-ramadan-when-its-in-june/521012 "2009-12-12T19:44:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-muslims-in-the-far-north-handle-ramadan-when-its-in-june/521012/21 "2009-12-15T16:22:19Z")
The best time IMO is a couple of hours or so before the breaking of the fast. Not a time when I want to be on the road. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-muslims-in-the-far-north-handle-ramadan-when-its-in-june/521012/22 "2009-12-15T17:47:31Z")
What sort of things do the people who are exempt eat? I’m guessing that they go for plain food, rather than tucking in to a yummy feast in front of others who are fasting but are there traditional things in various cultures? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-muslims-in-the-far-north-handle-ramadan-when-its-in-june/521012/23 "2009-12-15T19:35:55Z")
They eat normal meal times or they may have a snack early on and then eat with everyone else. Its up to the person and his circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-muslims-in-the-far-north-handle-ramadan-when-its-in-june/521012/24 "2009-12-16T00:06:52Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > What sort of things do the people who are exempt eat? I’m guessing that they go for plain food, rather than tucking in to a yummy feast in front of others who are fasting but are there traditional things in various cultures? In Cameroon, people who were exempt often did a sort of mini-fast to go with the spirit of things. It allowed people to drink water and eat a sort of millet porridge fortified with peanuts. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-muslims-in-the-far-north-handle-ramadan-when-its-in-june/521012/25 "2009-12-17T16:52:45Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > On a somewhat related topic, the first Malaysian astronaut was on the ISS for Ramadan a few years ago… There were also some issues with the daily prayers since Mecca is a bit of a moving target in orbit, so exceptions were made for that as well. In one of Alan Dean Foster’s _Star Trek_ stories, a Muslim shipwright working on the orbital construction of the USS _Enterprise_ would pray towards Mecca when the Earth’s rotation carried it below him. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-muslims-in-the-far-north-handle-ramadan-when-its-in-june/521012/26 "2009-12-18T11:55:23Z")
You would probably be expempt in such as situation. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-muslims-in-the-far-north-handle-ramadan-when-its-in-june/521012/27 "2009-12-18T15:41:13Z")
Kind of surprised this hasn’t been mentioned yet but I’ve been in Saudi twice during Ramadan and both times, at least around Riyadh, the locals actually changed their sleep schedule to where they slept during the day and lived\worked\played at night. They did this for a month at a time. I remember being called in to the base at 0230 and driving down the highway watching kids playing soccer under spotlights. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-muslims-in-the-far-north-handle-ramadan-when-its-in-june/521012.md?page=1)