(RNS) — Every Christmas season as her neighbors draped their house and grounds with festive lights, Jasmina Husic’s children asked the same question: “Mama and baba, why don’t we decorate for Christmas?” she said.
The mother of five, who lives in Kennesaw, Georgia, would explain that they can appreciate Christmas, but that it’s not a Muslim holiday. That didn’t seem to satisfy their curiosity. So a couple of years ago during Ramadan, she tried something different — Husic bought crescent string lights and inflatables to decorate her yard with her kids.
“And they were so excited,” said Husic. “Now they realize, ‘Oh, it’s Ramadan, because we have inflatables and our house has decorations everywhere.’ It helps them to be proud that they are different.”
Big-box retailers such as Target and Party City have been embracing Ramadan in recent years with indoor holiday supplies, from wall decorations to children’s books. Many Muslim Americans have enthusiastically embraced the stores’ nod to representation in return.
But for a growing number of small retailers and their Muslim customers, the celebration no longer stops at the front door. Outdoor displays that rival those that appear at Halloween or Christmas are now lighting up lawns during the Islamic holy month, which this year began on Feb. 17 in the United States.
Since launching her Muslim-oriented inflatables business in 2020, Basharat Rehman has seen sales increases for her displays for Ramadan and Eid, the holiday marking the end o …
