I was told Ramadan began 20Sept and ended 20Oct.

Yet, here in the USA, my Muslim colleague said it doesn't begin until the 24th.

I did search the WEB, and also found the date of the 24th listed.

Does it vary from place to place?

thank you!
Christine

My Turkish friend told me that is start on 24 of September and ends on 23 of October by Bayram.
I don't think that it depends from region-really but wait for other replies

Selamlar!!!

evet ramazan starts on the 24th and ends exactly one month later with bayram happy celebrating! Are you fasting?

This I got from answers.com

Ramadan and the new moon

When does Ramadan begin and end? This question is complicated by a number of factors. One, the Islamic calendar (hijrah) is based on the moon, and does not compensate for the extra days the solar calendar has over the lunar one. Thus, while the fast of Ramadan always begins on 1 Ramadan according to the Islamic calendar, the Gregorian date changes every year. So whatever date Ramadan starts on a given year, it'll start about 11-12 days earlier next year, and so on. This means the holy month can fall in any season of the year; it takes about 35 years for Ramadan to complete a whole cycle through the seasons.

Second, the beginning of Ramadan (as with all months of the Islamic calendar) is traditionally based on a sighting of the hilal — the crescent, or new, moon. If it is reported by a witness in front of a committee of elders by the evening of the 29th day of the previous month, Sha'aban, then Ramadan starts on day 30. If not — because the sky is cloudy or the moon set before the sky grew dark enough to see it — then Sha'aban lasts 30 days and Ramadan starts the next day. Western countries are more likely to begin Ramadan a day earlier than eastern countries, since moonset occurs later farther west and there's more chance of the moon being seen on the 29th of Sha'aban.

Some Islamic legal opinions rule that the date of Ramadan can be determined by astronomical calculations and does not require the sighting of a new moon.

The same procedure applies at the end of Ramadan.

Encarta Answers
Ramadan:
2006: Begins Sunday, September 24
2007: Begins Thursday, September 13

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, is the holy month of fasting for adult Muslims. (Dates given are estimated according to the lunar cycle. Exact dates are determined by Islamic authorities.)

Month Equivalents for Gregorian, Jewish, Islamic, and Hindu Calendars
Gregorian equivalents to other calendars are given in parentheses; the figures refer to the number of solar days in each month.
Gregorian Jewish Islamic Hindu
(Basis: sun) (Basis: combination of solar and lunar cycles) (Basis: visibility of the new moon) (Basis: moon)
January (31) Tishri (Sept-Oct) (3 Muharram (3 Caitra (March-April) (29 or 3
February (28 or 29) Heshvan (Oct-Nov) (29 or 3 Safar (29) Vaisakha (April-May) (29 or 3
March (31) Kislev (Nov-Dec) (29 or 3 Rabi I (3 Jyaistha (May-June) (29 or 3
April (3 Tebet (Dec-Jan) (29) Rabi II (29) Asadha (June-July) (29 or 3
May (31) Shebat (Jan-Feb) (3 Jumada I (3 Dvitiya Asadha (certain leap years)
June (3 Adar (Feb-March) (29 or 3 Jumada II (29) Sravana (July-Aug) (29 or 3
July (31) Adar Sheni (leap years only) Rajab (3 Dvitiya Sravana (certain leap years)
August (31) Nisan (March-April) (29) Shaban (29) Bhadrapada (Aug-Sept) (29 or 3
September (3 Iyar (April-May) (3 Ramadan (3 Asvina (Sept-Oct) (29 or 3
October (31) Sivan (May-June) (3 Shawwal (29) Karttika (Oct-Nov) (29 or 3
November (3 Tammuz (June-July) (29) Dhu al-Qadah (3 Margasirsa (Nov-Dec) (29 or 3
December (31) Ab (July-Aug) (3 Dhu al-Hijjah (29 or 3 Pausa (Dec-Jan) (29 or 3
Elul (Aug-Sept) (29) Magha (Jan-Feb) (29 or 3
Phalguna (Feb-March) (29 or 3

Maybe this will help you