BEIRUT, March 18 (Xinhua) -- A giant lantern, standing at 18.5 meters tall, was lit on Sunday night in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The lighting ceremony coincided with the launch of the "The Joy of Eid" Ramadan festival, organized by the Nabatieh Merchants Association.
According to the association's head Moussa Shmeisani, the lantern, which took half a year to craft and required six trucks for transportation, is now vying for the title of the world's largest Ramadan lantern in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Shmeisani highlighted that the lantern, a traditional symbol of Ramadan, was constructed using 4 tons of iron, with a base measuring 5 meters in width, and equipped with 20 light detectors for illumination.
Despite the ongoing conflict in the southern border region between Israel and Hezbollah, the festival aims to foster a celebratory atmosphere throughout Ramadan, which spans from March 11 to April 9 in Lebanon. ■
