[MES Forum] Lent in the Middle East

[McClimans, Melinda]

Dear MES Forum,

I received questions about lent because it happened that Ramadan and Lent started on the same day this year, last Wednesday. That isn't the case every year because Ramadan is on the Islamic calendars. There are also multiple Christian calendars and therefore start times for Lent, especially when we're talking about the Middle East.

Professor Miroljub Ruzic who heads the Libraries' Eastern European collections is highly knowledgeable on the subject of Eastern Christianity. His explanation of lent in the Middle East is below. Please enjoy this short yet very informative piece. Thank you, Professor Ruzic!
Fasting has long been woven into the spiritual life of the Middle East, practiced by Muslims, Christians, and Jews as an expression of faith, discipline, repentance, and empathy for the vulnerable. Beyond its religious significance, the act of fasting has left a lasting imprint on the region’s culinary habits, agricultural cycles, and food traditions.

For Muslims, the month of Ramadan is defined by a daily fast stretching from dawn to sunset. Each evening, the fast is ended with the iftar meal, typically beginning with dates and water before moving into heartier dishes that replenish the body and reinforce communal bonds. While the foods served differ from place to place, Ramadan tables often highlight grains, legumes, herbs, and comforting soups that are both sustaining and rich in symbolism.

Within Middle Eastern Christian communities, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and spans forty days leading up to Easter. Churches of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic traditions maintain detailed fasting customs. These often include avoiding meat, dairy, and eggs; refraining from oil and wine on designated days; and practicing xerophagy—eating simple, dry foods—especially in monastic settings. Some believers keep strict fasts, embracing the discipline as a path toward inner clarity and spiritual renewal. Over centuries, these practices have inspired a wide array of plant‑forward dishes built around vegetables, grains, legumes, and olive oil.

Jewish communities in the region likewise observe several fast days, with Yom Kippur standing as the most significant—a complete fast devoted to atonement and introspection. Additional fasts throughout the year similarly shape patterns of remembrance and ritual eating.

Across all three faiths, fasting in the Middle East is far more than the absence of food. It is a formative spiritual practice that influences seasonal cooking, hospitality, agricultural rhythms, and collective memory. The meals prepared to sustain people during fasting periods—or to mark the moment the fast is broken—embody enduring ties between belief, culture, and the cadence of everyday life.

About This Listserve:
We invite faculty, students, staff, and alumni to join the Middle East Studies Forum<https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/middleeaststudiesforum>. It's a great way to connect to the Middle East Studies community at Ohio State through events and activities. You will also find resources relevant to you, regardless of your department, research orientation or career stage. These will be most relevant, of course, if you are a student, scholar or educator of the Middle East. The Forum is an informal space to get together, share stories from fieldwork, talk about issues, learn about colleagues’ research, try out papers you’re working on, etc. Alumni, graduate students and advanced undergraduates are welcome to these activities. Events are oriented toward academic interests but many also target the general public.

 Best wishes,

Melinda

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.osu.edu/pipermail/middleeaststudiesforum/attachments/20260223/29f4be9b/attachment.html>