It's Ramadan this month. What does this mean to me? To the Muslim community? It means we're going on a spiritual journey for a month.

Some of my non-Muslim friends keep asking questions like: What is Ramadan? How can you go for so long without food? And the biggest question; what, not even WATER?! The hours vary year-to-year, but this year we'll be observing Ramadan through spring, so the hours would range from 13-14 hours without eating and drinking, from sunrise to sunset.

Ramadan is celebrated all across the world by Muslims. It's a time to forgive, and to think about the less fortunate who go without food on a daily basis. Growing up, I remember in my teens fasting and waking up in the early hours with my sisters, whilst my mum would make warm parathas (cooked naan roti and other selections of dishes). She would put on the radio (Sunrise Radio) the Islam hour, where there would be dedicated programmes for Ramadan, which would be played in pretty much every Muslim household. My sisters and I would giggle, and we would race to see who could drink a jug of water just before sunrise.

During the first week of Ramadan, you need to be really motivated and have the self-control to get through the month. It's difficult and tiring as we stay up for a special prayer throughout the night, so lack of sleep adds to this fatigue. But as with all challenges you learn to harness energy and excitement and grow the willpower that keeps you going through the mutual support and camaraderie of family, friends and your community.

Before Ramadan starts, we schedule a weekend with friends and family where we all get together and start the preparations. This includes decorating the home, having various books to read including children's books and the biggest part of all, the food preparations.

We have a production line with all the ladies having an evening get-together. We make a selection of Samosas, spring rolls and kebabs, ready for iftar meals - this would be divided into 150-200 per family. The excitement and chat we have on this evening are always something to look forward to.

One of the other things we look forward to after the fasting month of Ramadan is the celebration of Eid! Which, like Christmas, we all get together and have a huge feast with family and friends, with everybody dressed in their best attire. There is also 'Eid in the park' where we pray and say the Eid prayers once fasting has ended and have a light celebration meal with people from the local area. However, I haven't yet mentioned my favourite thing to do over this period and for many other women, is shopping for your Eid outfit.

During Iftar, (opening of the fast at sunset) the family gets together to prepare a feast to open the fast, during sunset, before the prayer takes place. There's a huge collective sense of achievement and relief that we made it through the day and will be rewarded with a delicious meal.

Until tomorrow, when it starts all over again at Sehri (closing of the fast sunrise)...

Thank you for reading my blog - Bushara