Lahore has become even livelier than usual, preparing to celebrate the birth anniversary of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on Rabiul Awwal 12, being observed on Friday (tomorrow) with great traditional religious enthusiasm and devotion. All mosques, shrines, historic sites, public and private buildings, markets, commercial areas, main city roads and streets have been illuminated with colourful lights and buntings. Special decor has been placed on model roads, including The Mall, Multan Road, Ferozpur Road, Jail Road and Gulberg Main Boulevard. Strings of fairy lights, festoon buildings and houses of the provincial metropolis and some even adorned with flags specially prepared in relevance to the occasion. Echoes of Na’ats, Hamd resound in streets as mosques across the city present a spectacle, decorated with jubilant lights. Capturing the true spirit of the auspicious occasion, citizens are seen offering food to the needy, more often than the usual, while neighbours and relatives send each other sweet dishes in the spirit of celebration. Meanwhile, ahead of the day, religious scholars including ulema and other speakers are paying glorious tribute to the last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) for his great and remarkable services for showing a straight path and giving a right direction to the humanity through flourishing and conveying the message of Allah Almighty particularly for the Muslim Ummah besides upholding the teachings of Islam. The city streets and roads including bazaars and shopping centres have been beautifully decorated with lights and colorful banners, depicting the writings about celebration of the birthday of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The 13 gates of Walled City have also been decorated and some makeshift gates have been erected at all major roads and streets in all areas of the city in connection with Eid Milad-un-Nabi celebrations. For a night view, private and public buildings are being beautifully illuminated with colored lights to express jubilation over the most sacred day in the Islamic history, the world over. A large number of Lahorites and other nearby area residents throng to view the illuminated view of Railway Station building and shrine of Data Darbar, decorated with colourful lights on the eve of Eid Milad-un-Nabi celebrations. Various Eid Milad-un-Nabi processions and rallies will be taken out in provincial metropolis and other cities of the province, which would be the hallmark of the sacred day. Likewise, ulema and scholars in their sermons at the Milad processions would pay tribute to Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). Milk ‘sabeels’ will be set up by various Islamic bodies and organisation along the entire routes of the Milad processions in the city and the adjoining areas. Cooked food will be distributed among people including the poor, orphans and downtrodden to mark the jubilation over the sacred day of Eid Milad-un-Nabi. The Eid Milad-un-Nabi processions will be taken out and `Mahaafil-e-Milad’ will be hosted in all areas of the city to celebrate the sanctified day and an icon of exceptional religious significance in over 1400 years old Islamic history. Major ceremonies, to be followed by the Eid Milad-un-Nabi processions, to celebrate the sacred day, will be held at the provincial capital as well as in Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Sargodha, D.G. Khan, Sahiwal, Sialkot including villages, towns, tehsil headquarters, and districts of the province. However, even as citizens find themselves jubilant in celebration, the prices of celebratory food items have risen significantly. It is estimated that makeshift stalls, especially set up ahead of Eid Milad-un-Nabi, have raised the prices of flags, badges, lights, buntings and miniature models of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) sandals, among other items, by 30 to 50 per cent from those of the last year. It is worth mentioning here that the main Milad procession will be taken out from the Lahore Railway Station and it will pass through its traditional route before culminating at Data Darbar. Prominent religious scholars and ulema will highlight various aspects of Seerat-un-Nabi.