6/14/2017
By: Rochdi Boumedine
Ramadan is a month like no other. It is a symbol of forgiveness, devotion and celebration. Alongside with its spiritual aspect and long fasting days, Ramadan Kareem lives in our collective memory of as a fascinating social and cultural event. It stretches back in history, and conjures vivid images of all those who celebrated it before us, weighed with their traditions and festivities. Ramadan exudes an atmosphere of its own, and whenever there is Ramadan, there is something differently exciting happening somewhere, call it tradition, or maybe culture, or just pure magic. Ramadan is a cultural tapestry that encompasses all, yet it is celebrated differently in every corner of the world.
One of the most prominent icons of Ramadan’s celebrations is the Fanoos, the Arabic for Lantern that has always accompanied Ramadan, embodied its festive spirit and celebrated its arrival. The Lantern tradition was born in Cairo Egypt, and carried on through generations to come.
There are many tales about how the lantern tradition started, however they all lead to Cairo during the Fatimid Islamic Caliphate reign nearly a thousand years ago. One story goes on when the Caliph Al-Muizz Lideenillah was on his way for the sighting of Ramadan crescent, he was accompanied with Cairo’s children holding lanterns and singing Ramadan songs.
It is fascinating that the Ramadan lantern has survived the captivating power of time and change. Lantern has remained a symbol of the holy month of Ramadan, and was charmingly incorporated with a rich oral literature in Egypt and some other neighboring countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Songs like Wahawi ya Wahawi (metaphorically meaning the light of fire), and Bint El Sultan (The daughter of the Sultan) are still sung by nowadays children and echoing in the streets of Cairo upon the coming of Ramadan. The Ramadan lantern is a story of a happy child, a colorful lantern, and an ancient song.
Ramadan Lanterns are very popular in Egypt; thus it is quite unlikely where an Egyptian household does not have a colored lantern. They come in all different colors, sizes, and shapes. Some of them can be as high as two to three meters, while there are those with key-ring size for the kids to play with. Fawanees (Plural of Fanoos) also can show a beautiful display of Arabic calligraphy with verses of the holy Quran, Allah’s names, or some other Ramadan greetings like Ramadan Kareem that can be seen in Iftar Tents, city streets, and on Cairo balconies.
The lanterns industry used to be solely Middle Eastern. However, over the past decade, a wave of lanterns imported from China invaded the market, and became very popular especially amongst children. The Chinese lantern gained popularity due to using batteries instead of candles, and also because of its cheap price in comparison to its local counterpart. Subsequently, the Egyptian government decided to stop importing the Chinese lanterns and ban them from the market in the hope of bringing back the local lantern, and preserving a handcraft that is already facing many daunting challenges in a time of technology and smart machinery.
Note: The article expresses the opinion of the author solely and does not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of Qatar Charity.