Everyday Systems

The Jewish High Holy Days are coming up fast- they're early this year. Rosh Hashanah is no problem, just two more S days. But how do you mark Yom Kippur on HabitCal? And what about the day after it? This year it's an S day, but is it always?

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, on Yom Kippur you're supposed to refrain from eating or drinking anything (even water) from sunset to sunset. Yom Kippur this year falls on Saturday, September 18, so the day after it is naturally an S day.

In general, how would a Muslim who fasts for Ramadan (that's going on now, isn't it?) or a Christian who fasts on Ash Wednesday mark their HabitCal?

I want to remark that one of the great things about No S is that it doesn't conflict with religious dietary restrictions. There's no problem with keeping kosher and doing No S. I can't imagine there would be a problem with a halal No S diet, or a No S diet where you avoided meat on Fridays during Lent. That isn't the case with all diets (particularly ones where you have to buy special food).

I think of those fasting days fall on N days, I'd mark them green -- after all, there would be no snacks, seconds or sweets. If there are S's when you break the fast, then mark it yellow. It's a religious holiday; it's an S day.

If your Yom Kippurs are like my Yom Kippurs, it's an S-day.

Yeah, there's that fasting bit -- but I more than make up for it at the end of the day.

The way I navigate swarms of holidays like this is by asking myself, do I really need to make this an eating S-day to fulfill my religious or social obligations? My understanding is that very few holidays in the religious traditions I know anything about require S-day eating. (If you're curious, here's a discussion from a while ago on the subject of Ramadan).

Basically, I try to average about 2 non-weekend S-days a month. If it looks like a given month is going to contain a lot more, I start getting picky about which really need to be taken.

Reinhard

I generally start my "days" just before dinner time, so that Shabbat dinner on Friday night is part of my Saturday S day. So the break-the-fast meal is part of a different day for me.

Yom Kippur falls on a Saturday this year and next year, so I'll get a regular Sunday S-day after it.