In a first, London's Piccadilly Circus decked out with Ramadan lights
Ramadan lights were lit up in London's Piccadilly Circus, marking it the first occasion when the city was illuminated for the holy Islamic month.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday switched on the capital's Ramadan lights to celebrate the start of the Islamic holy month. This is the first time ever that celebratory lights in Piccadilly Circus will illuminate the city for the month of Ramadan, reported the Mirror.
With this, London has also become the first European city to put on such a display for the festival which includes the installation of 30,000 sustainable lights. Aisha Desai of Ramadan Lights UK, who was motivated by her love of Christmas lights and started the project three years ago, organised the display, which was staged in partnership with Heart of London Business Alliance and featured the words “Happy Ramadan.”
“I just had the ambition to do it like the Christmas lights,” Desai was quoted as saying by the Mirror.
I remembered going to visit the Christmas lights with my sister when I was growing up and I also had an opportunity to live in the Middle East and I wanted to bring that joy and magic to London, the city that I'm from, she added.
Stating that she wanted to raise awareness about the holy month, Desai said, "I wanted to raise that awareness as well to let our neighbours know that this is a really important month for us, it's my favourite month of the year and I'm just grateful that we're here today.”
"As a child, a trip into central London to see the festive lights was an annual treat. My sister and I would lie in the back of the car looking at the lights through the sunroof. It was magical.”
Ramadan, also known as Ramazan or Ramzan, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is celebrated all across the globe by Muslims as a month of fasting (called Roza in India and Pakistan), prayer, reflection and community. It takes place for four weeks and two days - during which the followers of Islam fast between dawn and sunset.