Ramadan culture takes a fashionable turn, straining budgets

“We have to look our best when we are invited during Ramadan,” Amina says. For many Arab families, advertising, peer pressure, a growing middle class, and Gulf-led consumerism are steering the holy month – traditionally a period of fasting, spiritual reflection, and family affairs – toward a social season of high expectations on par with Christmas in the United States. Slowly creeping into the holiday the past two decades, Ramadan consumerism is hitting new heights in the region this year.

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