Principal Lecturer Hymie Abd-Latif reflects on what makes this year's Ramadhan extra special. 

Kia Ora Koutou, Hello everyone, Assalamu'alaykum, Dàjiā hǎo.

What makes Ramadhan 2026 especially meaningful? It arrives during an extraordinary week of spiritual significance across multiple traditions in Aotearoa and around the world!

In this same week we have:

• Chinese New Year is celebrated on Tuesday, 17 February 2026, welcoming the Lunar New Year, Year of the Horse, with themes of renewal, family, gratitude, and hope.
• Lent begins for many Christians on Ash Wednesday, 18 February 2026, marking a season of fasting, repentance, and spiritual preparation leading toward Easter.
• Ramadhan begins for Muslims in New Zealand on Friday, 20 February 2026.

Three sacred observances, rooted in different histories, cultures, and theologies, overlapping so closely, yet their shared emphasis is striking.  Takes me back to where I grew up in Singapore, where every cultural events was celebrated together across race and religion.

Ramadhan, Lent, and Chinese New Year each invite adherents to pause, reflect, and begin again. Let go of excess, distraction, or past burdens. Practice restraint, through simplicity and mindful living. Reconnect with whānau, community, and moral purpose. Look forward with hope, intention, and gratitude.

In Islam, fasting during Ramadhan cultivates taqwa, consciousness of God and ethical responsibility.
In Christianity, Lent calls believers toward humility, self‑examination, and compassion.
In Chinese traditions, the Lunar New Year symbolises renewal, harmony, and the strengthening of relationships.

Different paths, yet remarkably similar intentions.

This overlapping week offers a living example of, not as abstraction, but as everyday coexistence shaped by respect, curiosity, and manaakitanga.

As a New Zealander, it is an opportunity for me, not only to observe my own tradition more deeply, but also to acknowledge the sacred rhythms of others.

Good reminder to slow down, to act with intention, and to consider how personal discipline can contribute to the wellbeing of the wider community.

Whether through fasting, prayer, reflection, generosity, or simply greater kindness, Ramadhan, Lent, and Chinese New Year each remind us that renewal is both personal and communal.

In that sense, this remarkable week is not just a coincidence of calendars, but a quiet moment of alignment.

Ramadhan Kareem, Blessed Lent and Gong Xi Fa Cai Otago Polytechnic!