Celebrating the multicultural nature of Aston and Birmingham, a group of Muslim women are coming together on Tuesday, December 13, to host the first-ever Christmas Market, promote their products and have a festive fun.
“Most of the women who use our center are Muslims of South Asian, African and Arab heritage; and Christmas isn’t usually one of the holidays they celebrate,” center manager Meena Bibi told I AM Birmingham.
“However, arts & crafts have been an important part of the activities they have taken part in this year and, from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games to creating lanterns for the city’s recent Diwali parade, reaching out and connecting communities has played a key role in their commitment to celebrating their city.
“As we round up the year, it seemed apt that we hold our first Christmas market to remind everyone that we are indeed a super multicultural city and our newly announced ethnic-majority status is one of our strengths, not weaknesses.”
In addition to stalls selling food, clothing, henna painting, and home-made soaps and creams, the north Birmingham residents will unveil a new garden mural, which they have been working on for several months.
The new mural depicts flowers nature and bees to represent the local ecosystem, entwined with bold Islamic geometric patterns and Islamic motifs.
Christmas is the main festival on the Christian calendar.
Though Muslims do not celebrate Christmas, they usually extend hands to help patients, less fortunate, and homeless people to celebrate the season.
Earlier this year, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) cooperated with the Muslim community across New York City to give out over 2,000 toys in May 2021.