Jinan Chehade remembers as a child thinking of Ramadan as “the other” holiday because it wasn’t celebrated as widely as some American holidays.
That feeling for Chehade, 26, has begun to change in recent years, and Friday — the first night of Ramadan — was a momentous turning point for the Islamic holy month’s celebration in her hometown of southwest suburban Bridgeview.
Crescent moons, stars and lanterns illuminate the light poles along Harlem Avenue in a vibrant area of Bridgeview known as Little Palestine. It’s the first time Ramadan lights have been displayed publicly in the southwest suburb — home to a large Muslim population and the largest Palestinian population in the U.S.
“Having the lights up and having the kids here to celebrate in the middle of Bridgeview kind of shows them that they have a place here, too, and that this is their community, this is their city, and that Ramadan is welcomed by all,” Chehade said. “It’s not like ‘the other’ for them, but Ramadan is almost like a part of their life now in this community.”
A few hundred people packed the Al Manarah Square parking lot at 92nd Street and Harlem Avenue Friday night as children enjoyed creating paintings, having their faces painted and waving sparklers.
Ramadan celebrates the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad. The month is a period of prayer, reading of the Quran, reflection and gatherings with friends and family. Observers of the holy month fast from sunrise to sunset. The two meals of the day are suhoor, a predawn meal, and iftar, the meal to break the fast after sundown.
Ramadan ends March 29 with Eid al-Fitr, a three-day holiday celebrating the end of the fast.
A crescent moon coincides with the beginning and end of Ramadan, making it a popular shape to illuminate during festivities.
The tradition of using lanterns, known as fanoos, to decorate homes and streets during the holy month dates back centuries, but public Ramadan lighting displays have gained popularity in the U.S. in recent years.
The lights in Bridgeview will remain up until Eid al-Adha, which is June 6-7 this year.
Organizers of Friday’s ceremony thanked Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek for his willingness to listen to the Muslim community’s desire to enhance the community’s Ramadan celebration.
“It takes everybody to make things happen. We all have to work together to make something happen,” Landek told the crowd Friday night. “We’re a community, and we’re like a tapestry: We have Muslim Americans, we have Christians, we have everybody — Polish, German, Jordanian – it all works together to make a beautiful community.”
Bridgeview Mayor Steven Landek speaks to hundreds of Chicago area Muslims including a large contingent of Palestinian American’s celebrate Bridgeview, Illinois’ first ever public lights decoration along Harlem Avenue for Ramadan, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Bridgeview, Ill.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Sadia Nawab, a lead organizer of the event, said the Ramadan lighting along the roughly mile stretch of Harlem Avenue in Little Palestine brings “a sense of home.”
“It brings so much joy,” Nawab said. “We feel seen, we feel celebrated, we feel like we can be ourselves.”
Speakers at Friday’s celebration hinted several times at other ways the Muslim and Palestinian communities will work with Bridgeview officials to make their cultures more embedded with the village. That includes the official recognition of Little Palestine as a community area.
“We are not just businesses,” Nawab said. “We are not just here to exchange money. Am I right? We are a people of culture, of values, and we come from a rich tradition, and we want to showcase that more through our art, through our culture, through our institution.”
