I have a calender here from Isram tours that states Ramadan begins Sept. 24, 2006 could that be correct(?) and if it is , how long does this observance last? I always thought it was around Dec. sometime!! Thanks

Ramadan operates on some sort of calendar that I don't fully understand - but I do know that time of Ramadan has been moving forward into mid-fall over last few years, so September does not seem wrong to me.

Your question interested me since I had thought it started in early October this year. So I went to the internet. Lo and behold! Different sites show that it starts at different times. The majority say that starts in early October in Egypt.

Ramadan actually starts when the crescent moon is first seen after a particular month in the Islamnic calendar.

It appears that different Islamic states have different dates for the beginning of the period.

Does anyone know anything more?

The same calender I have shows Ramadan at Oct. 4 2005. Again,anyone, how long does this last? Guess the calender is correct, it did come from Isram tours, you'd think they'd know right?

In 2005 Ramadan starts Oct. 4 and ends Nov. 2. ;
in 2006 from Sep. 23 till Oct. 22.

Sorry, I misread the first post -- thought it said 2005, not 2006.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic year, which is lunar. That means the new moon is the beginning of the month, and the month lasts 29 or 30 days. Also, the calendar advances annually against the Gregorian calendar by 11 days. In 2005, Ramadan should begin on October 4, but the date is slightly tentative as -only for the months of Ramadan and Shawwal- the new moon must be seen by the naked eye and reported to the authorities. Some people go out into the deserts where it's clear so they can do this. It's just one of the rituals. Shawwal is the month following Ramadan and the first day is when Muslims stop fasting, and celebrate the Eid Al Fitr for three days.

Allrighty then--answers the question, thank you!!