18/02/2026
🎊🎊 Celebrating February 🎊🎊
This February is a month of celebration and reflection for many cultures and faiths around the world. On Mulbarton Ward, we’re fortunate to have a wonderfully diverse team, with several colleagues marking and observing these important occasions. Four members of our team have kindly shared their personal reflections and photos, offering a glimpse into why this time of year holds such special meaning for them.
Kaman, a Healthcare Support Worker, is from Hong Kong and has just celebrated Lunar New Year on the 17th. She shares with us why this is an important celebration for her: “”Lunar New Year is a time for family, tradition and new beginnings. We decorate our home with red banners (Fai Chun) and greet each other with “Gong Hei Fat Choi” and “San Nin Fai Lok” (Happy New Year), wishing everyone happiness and prosperity for the year ahead.”
Ruwan, a Registered Nurse, follows Buddhism. This month he has celebrated Navam Full Moon Day, and has shared why this is a special time: “Navam Full Moon Day, commemorates several special significant events. The appointment of Sariputta and Moggallana as the two main disciples. Venarable Sariputhra became famous for his profound knowledge (Pragna) and Venarable Moggallana for his spiritual powers (Iddhi).”
Aminat, a Registered Nurse, is a Muslim who has shared with us why Ramadan, which started on the 17th, is a significant time for her: “Ramadan is a special month for me as a Muslim. Muslims fast in this month from dawn to sunset, which can be challenging, but it also strengthens our patience and compassion qualities. However, Ramadan is more than just a month of fasting, It’s a time of reflection, gratitude, prayer, and self-discipline.
It’s also a time of community and generosity. We break our fast at sunset with a meal called iftar, often starting with dates and water, and it’s a lovely moment of togetherness with family and friends.
Muslims generally look forward to Ramadan with joy. It is often described as the "best guest" of the year, a time that brings a sense of peace and discipline that is hard to find during the rest of the year.”
For Cat, a Deputy Sister, Lent is the Christian time to reflect. Lent starts today, and she has shared the following: “Lent is a 40-day (excluding Sundays) Christian period of prayer, fasting, and reflection, beginning on Ash Wednesday Feb 18 in 2026 and ending before Easter. It commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, representing a time of spiritual preparation, repentance, and self-denial.
Being a young family who attend Soul Church in Norwich, we are using this time to complete 40 days of kindness with our children following the wallchart attached.
The great thing about soul church is that it teaches you the Christian way of living; peace, forgiveness, kindness and love, something we value a lot in our family.
It’s cool to be kind! 🩷
Attached is last year’s picture of the incredible cross erected in the middle of church over Easter weekend.”
Thank you so much to Kaman, Ruwan, Aminat, and Cat for sharing with us.
