I dragged out my old post from the archives :)
Basically this is how their day is spent...get up about 3am in the morning (the mosques will be loud as possible at 3am), and have "breakfast" which they call locally "saur" then just before sunlight, they'll pray and probably go back to sleep.
Some villages have volunteers that wake everyone up at that hour yelling SAUR SAUR...whilst walking around the area so no one sleeps in.
However this would be a time when you will find a lot more people on the streets at an early hour... after their brekky some take the time to go for a stroll or jog etc...then go back to sleep, until they havee to get up for work.
If they have to go into work, where actually during this month not much work gets done...well more likely the first week until they get used to not eating all day, they will be lazy, and complain of being tired and hungry or headaches..... bla bla bla.. attendance at the office or schools will be very low. Actually some schools have the first week off.
They go all day without eating or drinking, if they are really strict with themselves they arent even allowed to swallow their own saliva... btw, women who are pregrent or have their period,breastfeeding etc..are not allowed to fast, as are people who are sick or travelling long distances. However if they are a good muslim, after lebaran (idul fitri) they will continue to fast ... to "pay back" the missed days...
They arent allowed, to curse, swear, have sex, commit crimes, and a whole lot more during the daylight hours.. ... otherwise this will "cancel = batal" their puasa = fast... However you will still get the people who dont care about the fasting etc and will still do all of the above.
Then at about sun down.. the time changes about 2 minutes every couple of days.. .. 6.00pm .. then 5.58 etc... this is when you'll hear the call to prayer from the mosques.. this is the time that they are allowed to eat and drink again, until the mfollowing call to prayer at about 4.30am the next morning.
Usually about 7pm in the evenings the mosques will be full, for the terawih prayers.. these will last the whole month as well.
funny that during this month, indonesians do put on a lot of weight...because at the break of fast they do binge on the food all night till the next morning.. I always hear my friends complaining..oh no i've put on 5 kilos... but they again they are still tiny as ever hehehehe...
anyway all this goes on for about 30 days, then on the eve of Idul Fitri, they will celebrate late into the night, banging on large drums, this is called TAKBIRAN.. basically celebrating that they made it through the 30days of fasting.
The next morning there are special morning prayers at the mosque again called sholat Ied (or sholat idul fitri) Ied is the arabic word for Idul Fitri, they wear their best clothing, the children are usually given money, and they visit their family and friends...
The younger members of the family must visit the older members first, if say all the brothers and sisters are married, then all the children must visit the parents and ask for forgiveness.. Selamat Idul Firtri Mohon Maaf Lahir dan Bathin... is what you say...
Basically its their christmas.. in the month before hand, stores will have sales, because everyone will be buying new clothes, supermakerts will be busy, cuz they will be buying up and stocking the food, Buses, planes and trains will be full to the brim with people going home to their villages to celebrate with family, or having a holiday with their families such as bali.. the traffic all over indonesia will be macet = jammed..even the national roads..
:O)
oh yeh, there will be no marriages during the fasting month (moslem marriages) alot of people get married just before or after Ramadan..
Also, during the fasting month, you are not allowed to visit cemetaries.. (i havent really found out why yet..after all these years) so in the month leading to the start of fasting..you will have people visiting the cemetaries, to visit their passed loved ones... :) If someone actually passes away during the month, then thats ok, because of course they need to be buried within moslem law which is must be buried within 24hours or before sundown on the day of death if possible.
The crime rate also rises during this time, as a lot of people return to their villages a lot of houses are empty = easy targets. Police will ask for higher "bribes" because they need the money for "pulang kampung" going home to the village for Lebaran...
Jakarta is great in the last week of Ramadan as every leaves to go home to their village or maybe Bali.. there's no traffic, and the malls and other entertainment places are very very quite :) For us Jakarta expats its bliss....