The Magic of Hari Raya

Eid ul-Fitr or better known amongst Malaysians as Hari Raya Aidilfitri was celebrated on September 20th 2009. The biggest celebration in Malaysia, Hari Raya is the day that Malaysians look forward to each year.

It is a tradition for the Malay community to travel back to their hometown to gather with families celebrating the ‘victory day’ after 30 days of fasting. In my humble opinion, ‘Balik Kampong’ is a main part of Hari Raya. However over the last few years, I’ve seen a new trend where many youngsters that I talked to have lost interest towards the tradition of Balik kampong. Some just decided to stay in the cities and spend Raya only with the close family. Hence an empty and quiet kampong that used to be all colorful.

Some say it’s just same old Raya stuff every year, some say they have no more kampong as their grandparents have passed away, some even claimed that its not worth the time, money and effort to go through the crazy traffic each year.

So why do I go back to ‘my kampong’ every year? As I celebrate the first Raya as a married guy, I try to understand the hidden excitement of Hari Raya, away from Shah Alam.

First of all, Hari Raya is always about being with family.

For the 1st time, that includes my wife.

My family.

My wife’s family

and the extended family.

In the end all is one BIG family.

Hari raya is one day where everyone put aside their busy schedule and make time to Balik kampong. Therefore it’s the perfect time to catch up with other relatives.

It’s also a great time to celebrate someone’s birthday!

Hari Raya is also about forgiving, giving and receiving.

A day to literally say “I’m sorry”.

and sharing of wealth, through giving away “duit Raya” to parents, grandparents, elderly relatives, siblings.

and of course, kids that go house-to-house to do their collection drive.

Hari Raya is also about food.

Lots of food. From the normal Hari Raya meals of ketupat and rendang.

to “kuih raya” including this unique tempe, the secret of youth (for some ex-chief minister)

to local specialties such as this Mee Rebus Tulang.

And Muar Asam Pedas Sembilang

By going back to kampong, one can surely experience more authentic and variety of flavors of local delicacies, something that you may not get in KL on Raya week!

and food is something that make me happy (Habis Diet Sebulan!)

Hari Raya also gives me a chance to Travel and it’s no secret that I love traveling.

The fun in driving more than 1,000km, testing my driving skills on highways and rural kampong roads,

And the chance to see many interesting sights

Next time a contest offer you a trip to Bali, be careful as you might ended up in Muar.

In this technology era, Facebook and Twitter are in and its easier for relatives to stay in touch.

But there are still many good old Raya activities, one of it being BOOM BOOM POW!

The magic of hari raya is still there for everyone to enjoy. For some that spend hari raya in cities like KL, it is actually equally fun as what matters is the people around you. As long as there are families around you (of friends for those in overseas) Raya should be all fun! For me as long as I can afford to travel, i will make sure my future hari raya to be celebrated in a real kampung, either its Yan, Batu pahat or Muar and definitely not in Shah Alam.

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dan Batin.