Sure, I'd love to explain it.
Muslims follow the lunar Calendar to mark religious holidays and dates, much the way Jewish people do. Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar calendar. It falls back about 10 days each year. This year the fast begins in the first week of October. The fast is a month long. Starting the fast just before dawn, and breaking it just after sun down each day. This means that some times, Ramadan is in the heat of the summer, and other times, it is in the crisp of winter.
To break it down, a typical day of fast for me consists of waking up before dawn to have a light breakfast. The rest of the day consists of absolutely no food or water. For me, the greater part of the fast isn't necessarily the physical aspect, but the spiritual and emotional parts. We don't only fast from food and water you see, we also abstain from sexual relations with our husbands, gossiping, backbiting, lying, stealing, cheating, etc. All things that a person could indulge in. It is a fast in the truest sense of the word. Your eye fasts from what is unlawful to see, your ear from what is unlawful to hear, your hand from what is unlawful to strike, your foot from where it is unlawful to be, etc. After sunset, we break our fast on a light meal, and join our community later in the evening for a congregational prayer. (We normally pray five times a day, every day, with or without Ramadan, this congregational prayer is 'extra' and related specifically to Ramadan).
I've found it teaches a great deal of self-control, self-respect, and humility. Why shouldn't we sometimes deprive ourselves of things? Who are we, that we can't taste what it is to be without? Aren't we flesh and blood just like our brother or sister starving to death in Africa? It is a very humbling experience.
Not everyone can fast however. It is not meant to be a great hardship. If you are ill, require meds during the day, too young or old, if you are pregnant or breasfeeding, or if you are on your period (which most women are during the month, so they miss a week, and should make up the days before the next Ramadan comes)- these people are exempt from the fast. Personally speaking, the one good thing PCOS has done for me is enable me to fast many a Ramadan without missing a single day! LOL
Hope that helps explain Ramadan, I'd be happy to elaborate on any questions you may have!
Take Care, and thanks for asking
Ramadan 
