Eid ul-Fitr

Where is my angpow ?

Today is the third day ( 12the Sept ) where Muslims all over the world celebrate Eid ul-Fitri. In Malaysia, it is called Hari Raya. Eid in Arabic means celebration or festivity marking the end of the month long fast in the month of Ramadhan and welcoming the month of Shawal with Fitr meaning the conclusion of fast. In Malaysia and South East Asia generally we celebrate the Eid in a big way but in many other countries, Muslims tend to celebrate on a bigger scale the Eid ul-Adha ie the month of the Haj. In Malaysia and South East Asia in particular the Eid is declared as national holidays of 2 days. Muslims will perform the Eid prayers at the mosque or open spaces in the morning; but this time around since Eid fall on a friday, there was also another congregation at the mosque for the noon prayers as well. Eid ul-Fitr is a day to forgive and forget and therefore children are encourage to seek forgiveness from their parents and elders and also with friends and relatives alike. Food, and lots of them are the order of the day and families will make house visits to friends and relatives' houses to strengthen their bonding and kinship. For Malaysia in particular, people will have open houses and politicians in particular the ministers will have their own open houses for members of the public to take part in the festivities. This is something unique; therefore at times queues at these premises can be very very long indeed.

As for me, we had a sort of open house in the afternoon after the friday prayers on the first day of Eid but that was only the plan because the first of our guests arrived at  eleven in the morning and the last family friend dropped in around 7pm in the evening. It was a long day entertaining all of them but as usual we enjoyed meeting all of them, catching up on what's new about their families etc....but most of the times everyone will talk at the same time and I just wonder who is actually listening. Of course my classmates since the primary school days also popped-in as planned and again the stories of the good Malacca High School days will be the choice topic discussed and talked about. And this discussion will be a long one because we don't meet that often and there  is so much to talk about at this "reunion" . Some friends even would come down from as far as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur for this impromptu meeting of the Class of 66.

For the nieces and nephews, this will be the time for them to extend their hands asking for forgiveness and at the same time, getting money packets in return. It must be fun for them getting "duit raya" or angpow as the Chinese calls it. When I was a kid, we normally would be up before sunrise, getting into our brand new clothes and do our rounds visiting every single house in the village and eagerly collecting coins in the process. Some cheeky friends even would go twice to the same house wishing the occupants Eid Mubarak and hoping the occupants would not recognize them, and in most cases they would get away with the packet they hope for. Furthermore, there is nothing to lose except for a dented ego if found out ! It was fun and worth the risk.

The Eid ul-Fitr spirit of celebration will go on in the month of Shawal and this is the month corporate bodies and institutions will have open houses in their respective premises for their customers and business partners. There will be short speeches by the host and most of all , food will be served, typically ketupat ( rice cakes ) and rendang ( curry-like meat dish ) and other Malaysian dishes from the various ethnic groups. Light entertainment will make the day special for all present.

Ketupat - the original version ( rice cakes in coconut leaves )

Friends at our open house

The Goodies

During this holiday break most urban centres and the capital city Kuala Lumpur in particular will be seen to be "empty" because most of the inhabitants have gone home ie home are the kampongs or villages. The great exodus normally would begin a few days before the Eid and roads leading out of the city will be congested with all modes of transport, where a normal journey of 2 hours may now take about 4 hours to complete. And this would be the season where many road related deaths would take place due to accidents. For some, Raya would be tragic with the loss of family members and friends.