Tamseel Aqdas
Ramadan and Eid in Glasgow: Finding Home Through Food and Community
Hi! I’m an international postgraduate student at the University of Glasgow, and one of the things I was most worried about before moving here was what Ramadan and Eid would feel like away from home.
For me, Ramadan has always been more than just fasting. It is family, routine, food, and the feeling of everyone around you sharing the same experience. Back home, it never feels like something you go through alone, so before coming to Glasgow, I kept thinking about how different it would be here.
First worries: food and being alone
One of the biggest things on my mind was food. I remember thinking, how am I going to manage cooking everything by myself? It might sound small, but when you are moving to a completely new country, those everyday things suddenly feel much bigger.
I was also worried that Ramadan here would feel lonely. Back home, there is always a sense of togetherness during the month, and I did not know if I would be able to find that same feeling here.
Finding familiar food in Glasgow
One of the first things that made me feel better was realising how many halal food options there were in Glasgow.
I was so relieved to find halal groceries, familiar ingredients, and easy things to make during Ramadan. Even something as simple as finding halal spring rolls made me happy, because it reminded me of home. It made me realise that I would still be able to enjoy some of the foods and routines that I had grown up with.
It may seem like a small thing, but food becomes such a big source of comfort when you are far from home.
Small things that made a big difference
I was also lucky to have one really good friend in my student accommodation. That made a big difference during Ramadan.
Instead of feeling completely alone, there were moments of cooking, sharing food, and just having someone around. What I had imagined would be a very lonely experience slowly became something much more comforting.
Sometimes it was not about doing anything big. It was just those small everyday moments that made things easier.
Community in a new place
Another thing that really helped was being around the Pakistani community and the wider Muslim community in Glasgow.
There is something really comforting about being around people who understand what Ramadan means without you having to explain it. Even though I was away from home, there were still moments that felt familiar, and that made a huge difference.
That is probably what stayed with me the most. Ramadan in Glasgow was different, but it did not feel empty. In a lot of ways, it showed me that home can also be something you build in a new place.
From Ramadan to Eid
What made the experience even more special was that it did not stop with Ramadan.
As the month went on, Glasgow started to feel less unfamiliar. There was a real sense of warmth in the little things, and that carried into Eid as well.
Back home, Eid has always meant family, friends, food, and celebration, so I thought it would be one of the hardest parts of being away. And of course, I missed home a lot. But at the same time, I also realised that joy and togetherness can still exist in different ways.
Spending time with friends, sharing food, and even doing something as simple as having a BBQ made Eid feel really special. It was different from home, but it still had that same happiness and warmth that make Eid what it is.
Final thoughts
Before moving to Glasgow, I thought Ramadan and Eid would be some of the hardest parts of living away from home. And in some ways, they were emotional, because I missed my family and the routines I had always known.
But they also became some of the most meaningful parts of my experience here.
Through food, friendship, and community, I found comfort in a place that once felt unfamiliar.
And that made Glasgow feel a little more like home.