SeLaMaT HaRi RaYa PuAsA AiDiL FiTri To OnE AnD AlL

As I sit on my bed, writing this piece, I wonder how you, the reader, look like. It’s something I like to ponder, the way I do when I speak to someone I haven’t met over the phone. I also wonder… Are you curious to know who the one behind this blog are?

Ok let’s get back to business. Hari Raya Puasa Aidil Fitri is tomorrow. The day has come. But what is actually Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. Is Hari Raya a religious one and what it signifies? Well let’s talk about it with a simple and straightforward description. Hari Raya Puasa Aidil Fitri is the most important Muslim festival in the year. It is calculated according to the moon and so does not fall on the same day every year. The festival follows a period of fasting and is mainly a religious one. It has a great significance for the Muslims and is celebrated in a grand manner. Since most of the Muslims in Singapore are Malay, the festival is seen as a Malay festival. This is not true. Muslims, regardless of all races, celebrate the festival.

The Hari Raya mood begins during the last week of the month of Ramadhan. Everywhere are decorations and shopping in a big way. Every home is busy with the preparations. A whole line of cakes and goodies are prepared well before the festival day. The day itself begins with rising early and prayers at home. Then it is off to the mosque for community prayers. This is followed by a grand morning meal.

Muslims in Singapore, as everywhere else, are hospitable people and delight in feeding their friends. Thus Hari Raya is a time of visiting friends and relatives and receiving them too. Grand meals are thrown and there is much enjoyment and merry making. However, in spite of the festivities, it is never forgotten that it is a religious festival thus any prayers should be carries as usual.

During the season of Hari Raya, Muslims visit each other. It is also time to ask forgiveness from elders. As they are a close and loving community, courtesy is part of their living style. This is demonstrated most clearly during Hari Raya Puasa Aidil Fitri.

Bless it be...