Hari Raya

Puasa : "Puasa" means "fasting or abstention". The speaker might mean after "Hari Raya Puasa" is over. Here is some information regarding Hari Raya Puasa:

Hari Raya Puasa is also commonly known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri. In Malay the word Hari Raya means ‘A Day Of Celebration’ and Puasa derives from Sanskrit meaning ‘fasting or abstention’. Hari Raya Puasa means‘great day of fasting’ or in actual sense ‘the festival marking the end of a period of fasting’. Hari Raya Puasa is popularly known as Eid Ul Fitr. Hari Raya Puasa marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.

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Hari Raya Aidilfitri (also seen as Hari Raya Idul Fitri andHari Raya Puasa) is the Malay term for the Muslim festivalof Eid ul-Fitr. Hari Raya is also known as Lebaran. Muslims inBrunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippinescelebrate Eid like other Muslims throughout the world. The term "Hari Raya" literally means "Big Day" — it is also occasionally used to refer to Eid ul-Adha in the form of "Hari Raya Aidiladha". The main greeting used by Muslims in Malaysia and Singapore is "Selamat Hari Raya" which means "Happy Eid" in Malay. Another greeting is "maaf zahir dan batin" which translates loosely to "I seek forgiveness (from you) physically and spiritually", for Hari Raya is a time to reconcile and renew relationships with others.

As i sit here while indulging in my fav haagen-dazs ice cream, im starting to understand the true meaning of this particular celebration and how wonderful it really is, the true meaning anyway.

As a 5 year old, u dont really understand the meaning of this celebration, u just know that all your aunties and uncles, brothers and sisters, or anyone older than you, is most likely to end up giving you money, and at 5 its exciting.

However, as an adult..a very curious one..its very exciting for me as a non-muslim to be able to encounter such happy times, especially in another family, with the women desperately trying to get things ready in the kitchen, and the husbands, brothers and boys stealing the raya bicuits here and there, its such a fun event. the night before raya, i managed single-handedly to take down a cupboard..and get the help of the boyfirend to help me carry it outside and place all the contents of the cupboard into plastic bags. it was very accomplishing to have finally got it done after so long.

I slept around 3am and woke up at 11, sadly boyfie didnt make it to raya prayers, but i felt i was much more excited than he was, i rushed downstairs trying to avoid contact w anyone till after my shower. i showered and quickly put on my baju kurung, which i recently bought, and went to do my make up. Once i was ready i went straight to the kitchen and 'salam' the parents and sisters. I then was unable to find 'sampuls' so i ended up just giving the money straight to boyfies nephews and i was the 1st ;) . i then went back to the kitchen and was given my usual post which would be to make sure the 'kuih' holders were never empty, and they never are( besides me stealing the buscuits n them). the 1st set of people arrived and typically asked who i am and the usual banter about where im from..blah blah blah and they were gone. the whole day there was about 4 sets of diff people over which wasn't too hectic since many are not coming down 2 kl till boyfies brothers wedding next week.

LATE at night we played with fireworks and did naughty things with them such as blowing up the dustbins and sticking them in holes in the ground or poles..it was fun, tiring.... but fun. The last two days were pretty slow, went to a friends house and had some yummy food and desserts, and yes, i really feel like a fatty right now, so gym is definately back on the priority of my list ;/ but all this has been worth it, especially small things like helping in the kitchen and looking at others in the kitchen doing similar work to me, it got the job done faster, besides boyfies nephews often calling out '' Aunty lexis look at this, or 'aunty lexis buat apa' to be honest, cutting up cucumbers wasnt as easy as i thought..i didnt really know what i was doing either haha but i got it done(properly)...totally a pro cucumber-cutter now lol

Late at night as i lay down on the verge of falling asleep, i realized that besides all the fun, the meaning goes much much deeper, especially when it comes to relationships, about seeking forgiveness and reconciliation. For some its just words, but some do really mean it..the whole world should embrace this festival i think, its really something to celebrate. we should all celebrate new beginings and friendships/ relationships and practice forgiveness..

Thank u for teaching me such a meaningful lesson.