Celebrating a Personal Victory
The term Aidilfitri is also known as Eid ul Fitri in Arabic. Eid means a joyous and recurring event. Fitr denotes the breaking of the fasting period. The event is celebrated from the first day of the Islamic month of Syawal, and lasts for the entire month.
Muslims celebrate Eid ul Fitr to give thanks and celebrate their success in completing the month-long fasting period of Ramadan. The phrase hari raya is a Malay term meaning “a day of celebrations”.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri is welcomed with much joy and goodwill. Although it is not a religious requirement, Muslims wear new clothes, visit relatives and friends and indulge in delicious food.
The day, however, starts with special prayers at the mosques or open spaces. These prayers are performed as a congregation, led by an imam. There is also a special sermon. After the morning prayers, Muslims return home to celebrate Hari Raya with their families.
An important custom in this part of the world is to seek forgiveness from one
another, especially from older members of the family. This custom is considered as a means of abandoning past animosity, and strengthening bonds between family members and friends. The Malay phrase maaf zahir batin is often heard during Hari Raya and it means “forgiveness from all physical and emotional wrongdoing”.
Custom of Hari Raya Aidilfitri
In Singapore, Hari Raya Aidilfitri is celebrated over one month. After the morning meal with the family, Muslims here would visit the homes of close relatives. The homes of the elderly members of the family would be visited first, followed by younger family members. It is not uncommon for Malays and Muslims here in Singapore to take almost one month to finish visiting the homes of their family members and friends.
Muslims are decked out in their best clothes. For the Malays, the traditional baju kurung remains the favourite outfit. It is not uncommon for family members to wear baju kurung of the same colour!
Sweet meats called kueh are served in all homes, often served with sweet hot or cold drinks. Sometimes, a full meal of ketupat or lontongare also served.
An interesting custom is giving packets of money to children, as a gesture of affection and to enhance the festive mood. This is a common custom in many Asian societies. In the past, adults would simply hand out coins or currency notes. These days, possibly taking the cue from the Chinese, Malays place money in colourful festive envelopes.
Hari Raya Delights
As with other ethnic festivals, food is an important ingredient. For the Malay Muslims, the ketupat (rice cakes) is eaten with savoury vegetable in coconut gravy and a variety of meat dishes. The Indian Muslims usually serve rice, curry and other ethnic dishes.
KetupatThis is rice cooked in coconut leaves. The leaves are woven into a tiny basket shape. Rice grains are then poured inside it and the whole basket cooked in boiling water for 4-5 hours. The ketupat is a signature dish during Hari Raya Puasa. Many Malay-Muslim families would tell you that it’s not Hari Raya withouth the ketupat! The rice cakes are removed from its baskets and cut into small pieces. They are then eaten by pouring the lodeh (savoury gravy) over them. Meet dishes like beef rendang can also be added to the dish.
LodehThis rich coconut gravy called lodeh contains tofu and beancurd cakes, vegetables like cabbage, turnip and long beans. This is the main gravy for the ketupat (rice cakes).
Sambal Tumis
This dish packs a punch! The famous sambal tumis is a mixture of chilli, onions and tamarind juice, with either prawns, squid, tofu or ikan bilis added.
Beef Rendang
The famous beef rendang is a traditional Malay dish. It contains over 10 spices including onion, garlic, tumeric, ginger, toasted coconut, kafir lime leaves and chilli. The tender meat soaks up this wonderful mix of spices and is a wonderful dish for rice and ketupat.
Serunding
The serunding is made from grated coconut which is cooked with spices like onions and ground red chilli. Tamarind juice and sugar are added to give this dish a sweet and savoury flavour.
Sambal goreng
The sambal goreng is essentially a vegetable dish with tofu, fermented beancurd cakes called tempe and long beans. It is sautéed with onions, garlic, lemon grass as well as cut chillies. Coconut gravy is added and the mixture reduced until the vegetables have soaked in the spices and coconut milk. Prawns or red meat may also be added. It’s a good accompaniment with ketupat or rice.