This year’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri marked the first time a major festival in Malaysia was free of restrictions and was celebrated as normally as possible since the pandemic hit our country two years ago. Before the arrival of Hari Raya, the entire country was humming with anticipation and delight at the prospects of this year’s celebration. Before the Raya break, I interviewed my fellow classmate, Larra, who was incredibly excited about this year’s Hari Raya. Hopefully, this article will shed some more light on how Hari Raya is celebrated in Malaysia. Selamat Hari Raya to those who celebrate!
What does Hari Raya mean to you?
To me, Hari Raya is an important yearly festival where it is a time to ask for forgiveness and to establish new beginnings with my friends and family whilst getting to spend more time with them. This year’s Hari Raya is especially special to me because I will finally be able to meet my relatives again after two years of not being able to see them physically.
How did the pandemic affect your way of celebrating Hari Raya?
For two whole years, I could not return to my kampung to celebrate Hari Raya and although last year seemed quite promising, my family and I didn’t end up going back because of the rising cases. But this year, it is likely that I will be able to balik kampung and I’m super excited because it’s been so long since I’ve celebrated Hari Raya with my extended family and I would love to taste my grandmother’s food again!
What do you do as preparation for Hari Raya?
First of all, we clean our houses so that everything is ready for inviting guests over (which hopefully we can do this year). We also rearrange and decorate our house to make it look pretty. Next, we always shop for baju raya before Hari Raya and I also try my best to be as close to my family as possible or be more spiritual during Ramadan so that when Hari Raya comes, I feel more rewarded for my progress.
What do you usually do on the first day of Hari Raya?
On the first day of Hari Raya, I have to chaotically dress in the morning whilst trying to share a bathroom with my many siblings and cousins. Afterwards, I help to set the table and before breakfast, we go to the mosque for prayers in the morning as a family. When we come home from prayers, we ask each other for forgiveness and we take pictures in our baju raya as well! As we have our first big breakfast since Ramadan, we start talking and catching up with each other. I also receive duit raya (which I quickly spend).
What is your favorite thing about Hari Raya?
My favorite thing about Hari Raya is definitely getting to dress up and spend time with my family without having to worry about when they have to get back to work or get on with their tasks because apart from holidays and special festivals like this, we rarely ever get to catch up with our family properly. Having that time when we can actually talk and figure out what’s happening in our personal lives is very refreshing. I believe that this should definitely happen more often than it actually does.
What do people wear during Hari Raya? Do you own any of these traditional clothes?
What people wear during Hari Raya really depends on their fashion sense. Usually, my family goes for the classic kebaya or baju kurung. All families usually go for a color theme so they would buy the same color baju raya for all family members. This year, my family is doing turquoise and dark blue. Usually, by mid-Ramadan, everyone is already rushing and thinking of what color to wear.
What are the different types of food during Hari Raya?
This varies as each individual family has different traditions, and cultures and so on however, the iconic dishes for the Malaysian Hari Raya are ketupat, lemang and rendang. I feel like everyone is able to enjoy these dishes as they are very palatable to Malaysians. In my opinion, daging rendang tops ayam rendang but they’re both super delicious!
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