Easter & Ramadan in the same month

TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS?

Londoners are so diverse, they come in all different shape, genders and beliefs. The fact that so many different cultures can coexist together in this metropolis is a plus for both the reputation of the city and quality of life of the citizens. 2023 is also the year where the Christian easter and the Muslim ramadan coincide, different people are celebrating these holidays in different ways.

Juan De La Cruz, 25 is originally from Dominican Republic, he came to this country with his mother and his brothers almost 10 years ago: "as Dominicans we are still really connected to our roots, religion and christianity are a big part of our culture, I have tattoos with Mary and a psalm on my skin. We celebrate easter with our families and we grill meat on a barbecue, we play music, we have a good time with our people".

When asked about his relationship with the church Juan said:" I don't go to church anymore, Religion is crucial for me but I feel like church nowadays doesn't represent the real message of god. My relationship with god is personal, the pope asks us to help the poor but still lives surrounded by luxury, church should set the example before preaching".

Abdurhaman Saadi is a 21 year old muslim student from Morocco, when asked about his celebrations of the holy month he said : " A lot of non muslims view ramadan in a negative way, but I can confidently say that I feel stronger and even fasting is not a problem for me, people don't understand that when the sun goes down we meet up with our families and have rich dinners, Ramadan is one of my favourite celebrations it brings our families together and we feel closer to god. Every ramadan improves me as a person".

Different holidays but with a similar way of celebration, every holiday linked to religion has in common the re-union of families, its beautiful to see how this city hosts peacefully so many different cultures and it's also nice to see how in the end we are all the same and we are just divided by societies labels. hope everyone can enjoy their Ramadan and their Easter with their loved ones.