Social media users were pleased to see the new emoji launched by Twitter and Periscope for Ramzan greetings.
The Arabic hashtag Ramadan Kareem is trending on Twitter, and the holy month this year has got its own crescent emoji on the social media site. The hashtag has been used over 20,000 times.
The new emoji comes in the form of a crescent moon with a mosque. But only shows up with the hashtag #Ramadan or #Ramazan, but not #Ramzan.
يمكنكم إضافة الوسوم التالية لعنوان البثّ الحيّ على @periscopeco ، وعند الضغط على الشاشة ستظهر قلوب تتضمن هلال #رمضان pic.twitter.com/tU7bETDpY8
— Twitter MENA (@TwitterMENA) 5 June 2016
The emojis are not limited to Ramadan greetings alone, as they also include the topics #Azan, #Azaan, #Iftar, #Iftaari, #Namaz, #RamadanKareem, among others.
The Malaysian and Indonesian greetings for Ramadan, like #BulanPuasa, #BukanPuasa, #Puasa and #Sahur will also see the Ramadan emoji appear.
تتمنى لكم #رمضان_كريم، وكل عام وأنتم بآلاف الخيرات بمناسبة الشهر الفضيل. #رمضان #رمضان_مبارك pic.twitter.com/TDGYIZn4SY
— Twitter MENA (@TwitterMENA) 5 June 2016
Twitter users exchanged their wishes to one another, expressing their excitement over the new emoji.
On Twitter’s official Middle East account, it had earlier tweeted: “To help people around the world celebrate the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, we’re launching several initiatives to make Twitter more fun and useful every day during Ramadan.”
Others took the chance to show their solidarity with conflicted nations in the Middle East. They urged helping the needy and remembering refugees in their prayers. Pictures from Palestine, Iraq and different Arab countries were published along with prayers and wishes.
One item remains the holy month’s anticipated hero: the dates. Given the tradition of breaking fast over dates in Ramadan, the sight of the sweet fruit is expected to be prominent over the coming days.