Millions of Muslims around the world mark Ramadan by lighting lanterns and praying as they prepare to fast during holy Islamic month

Millions of Muslims around the world have begun to mark the holy month of Ramadan by lighting lanterns and praying. 

This year, Ramadan is set to start on the evening of March 10, and will go on until April 9. 

The month will see the world's roughly 1.8 billion followers of the Islamic faith fast from dawn to sunset. 

In the leadup to the holy month, sites across the world have set up bright lights in celebration. 

In Brazil, Muslims in Parana State, southern Brazil, stood in front of the Omar Ibn Al-Khatab Mosque in Foz do Iguaçu, shining a green light on the mosque. 

Brazilian Muslims celebrate the beginning of Ramadan and demonstrate in support of the Palestinians

People celebrate along a decorated street for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan in Giza, Egypt

Muslims pray to celebrate the beginning of Ramadan at the Omar Ibn Al-Khatab Mosque, in the city of Foz do Iguacu, in the State of Parana, Brazil

They also hung a large Palestinian flag on the front of the mosque, in a demonstration of solidarity with the nation. 

Celebrants of Ramdan were later  seen inside the mosque praying 

Over in Egypt, in the Al-Barajeel district of Giza, local Muslim groups set up a massive 21ft-by-18ft- lantern in the shape of a mosque in preparation for Ramadan. 

They were seen raising a smiling child on a seat as a crown walked through a brightly lit street.  

The Muslims' holy month of Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and it is believed that the revelation of the first verse in the Koran was during its last 10 nights. 

It is celebrated yearly by praying during the night time and abstaining from eating, drinking, and sexual acts during the period between sunrise and sunset. 

Locals install a 7x6 meter giant lantern in the shape of a mosque within preparations for the upcoming Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Al-Barajeel district of Giza, Egypt

People celebrate along a decorated street for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan in Giza, Egypt

Ramadan is also a time for socialising, mainly in the evening after breaking the fast and a shift of all activities to late in the day in most countries

It is also a time for socialising, mainly in the evening after breaking the fast and a shift of all activities to late in the day in most countries. 

While public celebrations of Ramadan have not traditionally been seen in the West, earlier this month it was revealed that Frankfurt became Germany's first city to hang up lights to celebrate Ramadan, with city officials citing London 's bright display in Piccadilly Circus last year as inspiration.

The city hung lights near the Alte Oper concert hall in the centre of the city, and will keep them up for the month of Ramadan.

Bild reported that since Monday, workers have been unpacking lights in the shape of stars and crescent moons and connecting them to the grid in preparation for the start of Ramadan on March 10.

The lights, which read 'Happy Ramadan' were blocked last year by the CDU, but the Greens, who run Frankfurt, managed to push the motion through.

The Green Party's application states: 'By decorating during Ramadan, the city of Frankfurt is sending an important signal for Muslim life and thereby appreciating the people of the Muslim faith in this city.'

Frankfurt's mayor Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg said: 'They are lights of togetherness, against reservations, against discrimination, against anti-Muslim racism and also against anti-Semitism.'

The lights will be hung across five steel cables at a cost of between 50,000 and 100,000 euros.

Up to 150,000 Muslims live in Frankfurt, making up roughly 15% of the city's population.