Ramadan
Ramadan , in its observance, parallels the traditional Christian Lent. The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, it commemorates the time in which the Koran was revealed to Muhammad. In contrast to the Christian West, the Muslim world observes the fast rigorously - indeed Moroccans are forbidden by law from "public disrespect" of the fast, and a few are jailed for this each year.

The Ramadan fast involves abstention from food, drink, smoking and sex during daylight hours throughout the month. With most local cafés and restaurants closing during the day, and people getting on edge towards the month's end, it is in some respects an unsatisfactory time to travel: efficiency drops, drivers fall asleep at the wheel (hence airline pilots are excused fasting), and guides and muleteers are unwilling to go off on treks.

But there is compensation in witnessing and becoming absorbed into the pattern of the fast. At sunset, signalled by the sounding of a siren and the lighting of lamps on the minarets, an amazing calm and sense of wellbeing fall on the streets, as everyone drinks a bowl of harira and possibly a glass of milk, and maybe eats dates. You will also see almsgiving ( zakat ) extended to offering harira to the poor and homeless.

After breaking their fast, everyone - in the cities at least - gets down to a night of celebration and entertainment . This takes different forms. If you can spend some time in Marrakesh during the month, you'll find the Djemaa El Fna square there at its most active, with troupes of musicians, dancers and acrobats coming into the city for the occasion. In Rabat and Fes, there seem to be continuous promenades, with cafés and stalls staying open until 3am. Urban cafés provide venues for live music and singing, too, and in the southern towns and Berber villages you will often come across the ritualized ahouaches and haidus - circular, trance-like dances often involving whole communities.

If you are a non-Muslim outsider you are not expected to observe Ramadan, but it is good to be sensitive about breaking the fast (particularly smoking) in public. In fact, the best way to experience Ramadan - and to benefit from its naturally purifying rhythms - is to enter into it. You may lack the faith to go without an occasional glass of water, and you'll probably have breakfast later than sunrise, but it is worth an attempt.

Other Islamic holidays
At the end of Ramadan comes the feast of Aïd es Seghir , a climax to the festivities in Marrakesh, though observed more privately in most communities. Equally important to the Muslim calendar is Aïd el Kebir , which celebrates the willingness of Abraham to obey God and to sacrifice Isaac. Aïd el Kebir is followed, about two months later, by Moharem , the Muslim new year.

Both aïds are traditional family gatherings. At the Aïd El Kebir every household that can afford it will slaughter a sheep. You see them tethered everywhere, often on rooftops, for weeks prior to the event; after the feast, their skins are to be seen, being cured on the streets. Note that, on both aïd days, shops and restaurants close and buses don't run; on the following day, all transport is packed, as people return to the cities from their family homes.

The fourth main religious holiday is the Mouloud , the Prophet's birthday. This is widely observed, with a large number of moussems timed to take place in the weeks around it. There is also a music festival, Ashorou , which takes place thirty days after Aïd el Kebir, when people gather to play whatever traditional instrument they feel capable of wielding, and the streets are full of music.

Islamic holidays calendar
Islamic religious holidays are calculated on the lunar calendar , so their dates rotate throughout the seasons (as does Ramadan's), losing about eleven days a year against the Western (Gregorian) calendar. Exact dates in the lunar calendar are impossible to predict - they are set by the Islamic authorities in Fes - but approximate dates are:

	2001	2002	2003	2004
Aïd el Kebir	5 Mar	22 Feb	11 Feb	31 Jan
Moharem	26 Mar	15 Mar	4 Mar	21 Feb
Mouloud	4 June	24 May	13 May	1 May
1st Ramadan	16 Nov	5 Nov	25 Oct	13 Oct
Aïd es Seghir	16 Dec	5 Dec	24 Nov	12 Nov

Public holidays
Nowadays each of the big religious feasts is usually marked by two days off . These are announced or ratified by the king, each time, on TV and radio the preceding day.

On these public holidays, and on the secular fêtes nationales , all banks, post offices and most shops are closed; transport is reduced, too, but never stops completely.

Moussems and ammougars
Moussems - or ammougars - are held in honour of saints or marabouts. They are basically local, and predominantly rural, affairs. Besides the Aïd Es Seghir and Aïd El Kebir, however, they form the main religious and social celebrations of the year for most Moroccans, especially for the country Berbers.

Some of the smaller moussems amount to no more than a market day with religious overtones; others are essentially harvest festivals, celebrating a pause in agricultural labour after a crop has been successfully brought in. A number, however, have developed into substantial occasions - akin to Spanish fiestas - and a few have acquired national significance. If you are lucky enough to be here for one of the major events, you'll get the chance to witness Moroccan popular culture at its richest, with horse-riding, music, singing and dancing, and of course eating and drinking