The month is the ninth in the Muslim lunar calendar, and during it Muslims fast during the day, abstaining from both food and water.
In Dunedin, up to 250 people are expected at Al Huda mosque each evening, to pray and to break their fast after sunset in a meal called iftar.
Otago Muslim Association chairman Mohammed Rizwan said up to 20kg of rice and about 25kg of meat would be consumed at the mosque in Dunedin every evening.
People volunteered to take turns cooking, and the mosque was reliant on the community for donations of food.
There were vegetarian options as well as meat meals, Dr Rizwan said.
As always, the community was ''excited'' about the start of Ramadan, and the mood was no different from any other year following the Christchurch mosque shooting in March.
Even predicting when the new moon would be seen built the sense of anticipation before the start of the month, he said.
''Someone did see it, so that's why we are starting today,'' he said.
A ''month of blessings'', it was a time of self-reflection, expressing gratitude for what you had and sympathising with those who were less fortunate. Those who could afford it donated money to the poor and needy.
There were people who tried to read the Koran as much as they could, and did extra prayers throughout the day.
''You do devote yourself as much as you can to the worshipping of God.''
Every morning people had breakfast (suhoor) before sunrise, a chance to ''eat as much as you can'' if you were able to first thing in the morning, Dr Rizwan said.
After suhoor was the early morning prayer (fajr), for which most people came to the mosque.
The association was still collecting donations for families affected in Christchurch, and individual families were also still travelling up to help members of the community, he said.
A police spokeswoman said, after the March attacks, police continued ''to have staff at potential risk sites where appropriate'', including at churches, synagogues, mosques and major events.
There was nothing to suggest any specific risk to public safety during Ramadan. However, people were encouraged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity.
Dr Rizwan said everyone was welcome at the mosque during the month, including families, single people and students.
Non-Muslim people were welcome at the mosque, and did come along - for instance, classmates of Muslim university students.
