Observant Muslims are supposed to fast during Ramadan, abstaining from all food and drink, even water, during daylight hours, then eating and
drinking after sundown.
The festival became a cherished ritual: friends would religiously mark their calendars for the first Saturday
after the Fourth of July, reuniting for martinis, gumbo, and dancing, a
sundown screening of their cinebursts of creativity, then ever more spirited
drinking and dancing well into the night.