Shine a Light on Celiac

A united celiac disease awareness campaign.

Celiac disease is a serious, genetic autoimmune disease.

May is Celiac/Coeliac Awareness Month in Canada, Europe and the United States, May 9-15 is Coeliac Awareness Week in the UK, and May 16 is internationally recognized as Celiac Awareness Day.

Building off of the past joint activities of 2020—where buildings across the globe “shone” green for awareness—celiac-related organizations around the world have come together to support shining a light on the seriousness of this disease in 2021. We’re lighting up landmarks in green for celiac awareness, we’re highlighting gluten-free food insecurity, we’re collecting and sharing stories, we’re shining a light on the need for more research and so much more!

This awareness campaign is a group effort between celiac disease organizations across the globe.

Learn more about the organizations involved

What is Celiac Disease?

Celiac disease (also referred to as celiac sprue, non-tropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy) is a serious, genetic autoimmune disorder triggered by consuming a protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye.

What happens when a person with celiac disease eats gluten?

When a person with celiac disease eats gluten, the immune system sees the protein as a threat and begins to attack it. The villi of the intestines, which are trying to digest the gluten, get damaged in the process. Damaged villi make it nearly impossible for the body to absorb nutrients, leading to malnourishment and a host of other problems including thyroid disease, osteoporosis, infertility and the onset of other autoimmune diseases.

Landmarks we’re lighting up for celiac disease awareness:

Where	What	When	Who
Alberta	Calgary Tower	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association
Athens	Town Hall of Ilioupolis	May 16	Hellenic Coeliac Society
Athens	fountain in Omonoia Square	May 16	Hellenic Coeliac Society
Boston	Boston Children’s Hospital (front wall)	May 16, 8 pm-10 pm	Celiac Disease Foundation
Boston	Burns bridge	May 16	National Celiac Association
Boston	Fore River bridge	May 16	National Celiac Association
Boston	Longfellow bridge	May 16	National Celiac Association
Boston	Zakim bridge	May 16	National Celiac Association
British Columbia	Vancouver City Hall	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association
British Columbia	Port Moody City Hall	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association
Edmonton	Epcor Tower	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association
Edmonton	High Level Bridge	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association
Fostoria (Ohio)	Municipal Building	May 14-May 31	Celiac Disease Foundation
Ioannina	Administration building of Epirus	May 22-23	Hellenic Coeliac Society and Celiac’s Home
Ioannina	Ioannina Town Hall	May 22-23	Hellenic Coeliac Society and Celiac’s Home
Minneapolis	Lowry Avenue Bridge	May 16	Celiac Disease Foundation
Montreal	Olympic Stadium	May 16	Coeliaque Québec
Nashville	Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge	May 15	Celiac Disease Foundation
New York City	Helmsley Building	May 16	Celiac Disease Foundation
Niagara	Niagara Falls	May 16, 9:45 pm	Canadian Celiac Association
Prince Edward Island	Charlottetown City Hall	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association
Québec	Tour Jules-Dallaire	May 16	Coeliaque Québec
Saskatoon	Prairie Wind at River Landing	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association
Saskatoon	Sasktel Centre	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association
St. John’s (NFLD)	Confederation building of Newfoundland	May 17	Canadian Celiac Association
St. John’s (NFLD)	Government House	May 17	Canadian Celiac Association
Toronto	CN Tower	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association
Vancouver	BC Place	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association
Vancouver	Science World	May 16	Canadian Celiac Association