Celebrating Eid Malaysian style

Can't believe it is almost a month after Ramadhan. Was so looking forward to it and now, it's gone and was so looking forward to Eid and now, it has also come to pass. Eid celebration in Malaysia is for a month...it is not sunnah of course since Eid-ul Fitri is only for one day. However, Malaysians love food and eating. We have this thing called 'open house' and I supposed once upon a time, when Malays lived in the village...open house would literally mean that you open your house for anyone to come and eat. However, nowadays open house is an invitation only.

Since Eid which was on the 8th August 2013, we have been attending open houses every weekend. Often there are 2 or 3 invitations in a day; sometimes more. It is during these open houses that we tend to meet people we haven't seen in the last year or sometimes for several years. You know old school mates and distant cousins; it is a great time for silatur Rahm with family members and also a good time to catch up and re-connect with old friends.

This is something I totally love about Malaysia. It is a very sociable country. Eid in UK was very different for me. There were times when I barely celebrated Eid as I was on-call or working at the hospital. However, as I developed close friendships with some of the Muslims in Britain; especially those who didn't have any family members...we formed our own tradition. There was a group of us who would gather for breakfast on Eid day and spend the day together. Later on...we even had a Eid night gathering starting from just before Maghrib. I remembered once me and the sisters were laughing so much that we said, it had to be Eid because the Syaitan must have been released from their prisons.

So, I had some good memories of Eid in the UK but I guess nothing could beat spending Eid with family. All the kids running around and eating the special Eid food of ketupat, rendang...well my mom's specialty is actually asam pedas and sambal goreng pengantin (Singaporean dish). On the night of Eid, we would pray Maghrib together, read the Takbeer, have a feast and kids would play fireworks. We spread mattresses on the floor so the kids can just fall asleep when they get tired.

Eid is a beautiful time but it is also a sad time knowing that Ramadhan has left us...at least for another year. I miss Ramadhan and soon Syawal too will come to pass...but we have Hajj to look forward to and then Awal Muharram and Asyura and before we know it, Ramadhan will reappear. There's so much to do within that time, so much to maintain, so much to improve...so many problems in the Muslim world that needs to be resolved.

Every year, we hope for a better Ramadhan...for the Muslims to start fasting on the same day. For the wars to end...for peace...for Muslims to unite...for Khilafah to be re-established. Maybe next year...insyaAllah.