Goeiemiddag, bonjour and Ramadan Kareem to all who celebrate.
Today you've got me, Maïthé Chini, delivering the latest news on The Brussels Times website straight to your inbox.
This is a special time around the globe, as this year's solar and lunar calendars have synchronised to bring three major observances together all in one week.
As our intern Vicente Torre Hovelson reports, Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Lent overlap this year – a triple alignment that means Christians, Muslims and many others from all over the world are observing and celebrating their religions and cultures at the same time.
The new Lunar Year kicked off this extraordinary week on Tuesday, followed by the start of the 40 days of Christian fasting known as Lent on 18 February. Last in line is Ramadan, the Islamic practice of fasting for one lunar month, which starts today.
While I'm not religious myself, I grew up surrounded by second- and third-generation members of the Turkish and Moroccan communities in a former mining town in Flanders.
The first memory I have of Ramadan is confusion when some of the classmates I usually shared my free period with suddenly stopped eating lunch at school. A month later, that confusion quickly turned into delight when those same classmates brought all the leftover sweets and candies from the Eid al-Fitr celebrations to share with the rest of the class.
As I got older and grasped the importance of ritual fasting to the community, I was even lucky enough to be invited for dates, tea and delicious food at iftar at friends' and neighbours' houses. There, I learned all about what connects hundreds of thousands of people across the world.
If you are curious and also want to learn more about this tradition that has been bringing families and communities (and even outsiders like me) together for hundreds of years, a large iftar will be organised in Anderlecht next Wednesday evening – open to everyone and completely free of charge. I cannot recommend it enough.
In other news, today's main story is about how Belgium's booming illegal cigarette trade is fuelling crime and endangering public health. Read all about it here.
And lastly, before I let you go, I want to highlight that the new issue of The Brussels Times Magazine is out now. From royal academies to road tunnels, wartime landscapes to distant galaxies, quiet tech pioneers to stubborn institutions – this issue explores how Belgians make sense of a complicated world.
Have a good one!
Belgium in Brief is a free daily roundup of the top stories to get you through your coffee break conversations. To receive it straight to your inbox every day, sign up below:
1. How Belgium’s booming illegal cigarette trade is fuelling crime and endangering public health
Belgians are smoking less and less, but almost every month a clandestine cigarette factory is shut down in Belgium. Read more.
2. A triple alignment: Ramadan, Lunar New Year and Lent converge in 2026
This year, the solar and lunar calendars have synchronised to bring three major observances together in a single week. Read more.
3. What to do in Brussels this weekend: 20 – 22 February
From film festivals and art exhibitions to treasure hunts and some of the best stand-up comedy in town, here's what's on in Brussels this weekend. Read more.
4. Far-right group organises demonstration in Brussels following death of Quentin, 23, in France
Quentin Deranque, 23, a French student who was violently attacked during a far-right protest in Lyon on Thursday, died in hospital on Sunday. Read more.
5. Everything we know about the case that sparked a diplomatic row between the US and Belgium
As the dispute between US Ambassador Bill White and the Belgian government continues, we examine why the controversy erupted and what the rules on circumcision are in Belgium. Read more.
6. Stabbing near Jeanneke Pis in central Brussels
A person was injured in a stabbing incident late on Wednesday evening in central Brussels. Read more.
7. Leading Belgian opera singer José Van Dam dies aged 85
"Belgium loses its greatest ambassador of lyrical art, and the world loses a legend who, through his genius, shaped the history of opera in the 20th and 21st centuries." Read more.
