With Ramadan pressing the brakes on the mundane pace of life to usher in a palpable waft of spirituality and contemplative quietude, inject the mood of the season into your home with little touches of décor elements that have Ramadan subtly labelled over them.
Clean Up the Home
Festivals, traditionally, have been seen as times to undertake a thorough cleaning of the home space to set the pace for the festivities and welcome the season. And with Ramadan advocating abstinence and spiritual reflection, a home spruced up to create the right ambience gains all the more significance. What is important here is to give your home a complete treatment – before the onset of the season, if possible. If not, get your home ready for the Eid that will follow the month-long season of sharing. This cleaning should go beyond the regular dusting, sweeping and mopping; it should include changing or washing curtains and table clothes; airing carpets, rugs and furniture and generally ensuring that the unnecessary and unessential things lying around the house are discarded/given to charity and the essential items are cleaned up for the festive season.
Light Up the Home
Lights spell feast like nothing else. Whether you opt for the miniature coloured ones or pick traditional lamps to get into the season, lights are essential to give your home the look and feel of the fast-approaching feast. Interestingly, most countries in and around the region have their traditional Ramadan lamps that are brought out at the start of the season. These lamps are aesthetic in their appeal and are symbolic in their presentation. You could place these lamps in and around the home or light up the living space with candles to complement the mood of the season. String lights are convenient and also easy to decorate your home for Ramadan.
Create the Mood
Little things can go a long way in setting the tempo for the month of Ramadan. Like books on Islamic literature to adorn the coffee table or children’s picture books depicting the joys of the season. Alternately, you could create a display table that is strikingly Ramadan in its presentation, with a ‘Ramadan Kareem’ banner hanging around it. Place the table near the entry or use your console table to transform into your Ramadan mood-setter. Incorporate decorative prints or posters on Ramadan to adorn the table. String lights could add to the effect. You could also save space on the table to place a countdown chart to Eid; this would be an ideal way to involve children in the countdown to the big day.
Set the Dining Table
In most households, where mealtimes are individual affairs than family times owing to work pressures, Ramadan comes as a beacon to embrace members of the family in its warm glow of love and togetherness. Iftar is, often, a time to spend with the family and/or friends and that places the importance on the dining table where every member is expected to sit down and break the fast. Alongside cutlery and napkins, ensure that there is a platter or apothecary jars filled with dates and nuts, as well as little candles to spread the warmth of the light around.
Introduce Ramadan Traditions
Festivals are all about reliving traditions, but creating your own family tradition, one that revolves around feasts, is a perfect way to establish a bond with your children. While the tradition you chose to follow through is only limited by your creativity, what should be fundamental to make it a successful one is the involvement of every member of the family. You could create a Ramadan countdown chart or decorate a gratitude jar for the season, wherein every member of the family writes down one thing they are thankful for the day. Place every note in the jar and make time to read it on the day of the Eid or before the onset of the next Ramadan. Over a period, you would have collected several Ramadan jars, which in itself could be your home décor statement.
Go on, get your home set for the Holy Month.