As this is a non-denominational site (ie religion free) I usually steer well clear of anything to do with religious arts and crafts. I know that creating as part of your religion can be a very rewarding and satisfying past time, but anything to do with religion - just like politics and advice on how to raise your kids, can be a tricky area to navigate. So this is why I hesitated in writing about crafting with children during Ramadan. I didn’t hesitate long however, as anything that will help in raising awareness and increasing knowledge of this misunderstood religion in the current political climate is worthwhile. I personally think that every religion has their good and bad advocates and it is unfortunate that a small group can give the whole a bad name.

Ramadan Joy is run by khadjia, she promotes creativity through crafts and community and is encouraging new family traditions for Muslims living in the west. One of these new family traditions is the children’s ramadan challenge which has benefits for everyone and looks lots of fun too (find out more soon in an upcoming story). On reading up about Ramadan traditions in the West, I found that there is a growing tendency to want to make Ramadan extra special for children and as modern muslim mama says

Every year at Ramadan time, Muslims, especially Muslim moms, ask one another what activities and crafts they can do to make Ramadan special and fun. Some people out there frown on having fun in Ramadan, and say that we shouldn’t have to make up for the bombardment of Christmas. They are right, we shouldn’t have to. However, even home schooled or Islamic school going kids see the fuss that surrounds Christmas and become aware of all of the things that kids and families do together at this time. It is not wrong for a Muslim mother to try and find a way to make Ramadan special, so that her kids know and remember that it is just as important to us as Christmas is to Christians.

Ramadan for those still unsure is: The ninth month of the Islamic year (this time of year), is the month in which the Koran was revealed to Muhammad, and God determines the fate of the world for the coming year. This is the holiest month for those practicing the Muslim faith, most people would recognise fasting during daylight hours as the main tradition during this time.

There is a whole range of activities and pastimes that are encouraged during Ramadan, such as helping the poor, celebrating family, celebrating the moon, story telling and literature, crafts, songs and prayer, see Islamic stuffs website for a list of ideas for celebrating Ramadan with children. And also check out these Muslim mothers who are crafting and creating for Ramadan annies letters, educating the Muslim child, the Egyptians wife, and Orlando Muslim Mama.

I would love to hear your thoughts on religious crafting - what crafts do you make for your religious special times?

Holiday Softie Awards

How to enter:
- Enter a softie in one of categories (see below) by uploading a photo of your softie to the flickr group.
- Open for entries Oct 1 and the last day to enter is Oct 31.
- Use the tags for your entry - see Softies Central under ‘Tagging’.

Categories are:

1. Deck the Halls - softie decorations like Christmas trees, ornaments, stockings, advent calendar, tree toppers, mistletoe, a snowflake mobile.
2. Animals Dressed for the Holidays – Cute animal softies. Dress them in their holiday best! You can also enter softies made with holiday-ish fabric. (doesn’t have to be red and green or have snowflakes, but could be festive or sparkly)
3. Doll Dress Up – doll softies dressed for the holidays
4. Under the Tree – Toy softies that aren’t animals or dolls. If you make a reindeer pulling a sled, put it here. If you make a reindeer with a holiday vest, put it in the Animals Dressed for the Holidays category.
5. Holiday Smorgasbord - softie holiday food: gingerbread, fruitcake, milk & cookies, turkey dinner, mashed potatoes, ham, Hanukkah gelt, latkes, etc.
6. The Nightmare Before Christmas - creepy/cute for the holidays – Halloween and Christmas
7. Let it Snow! - white softies only i.e. snowflake, polar bears, an all-white Santa. Softies must be at least 75% white. That means you can use other colors for trim, eyes, the inside of an oyster etc.
8. The Worst Gift I Ever Got! - Have fun with this one. Please include a note on this softie’s flickr page to tell us a little about this horrible gift!
9. Holiday Version of My Softie Book Softie – make any softie from Softies and dress it up, or otherwise make it holiday-ish!