For Muslims, Ramadan is the most important month of the year, which is filled with fasting, prayers and helping the less fortunate. This year, though, they find themselves celebrating a bit differently.

“I miss being able to go to the mosque during Ramadan, and now due to the pandemic, it doesn’t feel the same but I’m trying to get the best out of it,” junior Najma Abikar said.

Ramadan this year started on April 23 and will end on May 23, a total of 30 days. The last day of Ramadan is Eid (Eid al-Fitr), which marks the end of the holy month. Billions of people around the world celebrate this day by prayers and having a big meal with your family. They also give gifts, dress up, and visit family and friends.

However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Muslims cannot go with their families to break their fast and pray as they usually would. Many people are fasting solo or just with the people they live with instead of flying back to see and spend time with family and friends.

In response, many Muslim organizations are hosting virtual iftars so that people can still come together. Muslim bloggers are sharing new recipes for Suhoor and Iftar as well. Various social media and apps are being used to livestream lectures, courses, and prayers.

“During the month of Ramadan, we start off every day by waking up at 3 or 3:30 a.m. to eat Suhoor (the meal before dawn). After that, we pray and go back to sleep,” Abikar said. “We wake up as we normally do and go on with our day. When the time comes for Iftar (the meal at sunset), we all prepare to break our fast with our family.”

“During Suhoor, we eat rice, lentils, curry, vegetables, whatever we have left in our freezer. For Iftar, we eat pakoras, lemonade, dates, and jalebis” junior Subha Bakhtiar said.

Ramadan this year feels substantially different for many people around the world but they are attempting to make the best of it.