Hari Raya [Day of Celebration]

Hari Raya, “pilgrim festival”, is celebrated at the end of the fasting month, which is known as Ramadhan. Hari Raya is a time for muslims to celebrate their personal triumph. During Ramadhan, Muslims are required to abstain from satisfying daily needs between sunrise and sunset, fasting during this month is compulsory, or wajib. All Muslims except the young, old or infirm must fast. The date that Hari Raya begins is chosen by the area and shape of the moon, once ramadhan ends the moon is then known as “the new moon”. Hari Raya translated to English is “Day of celebration”.

The new moon tells Muslims the month is over and that they can celebrate Hari Raya, which is also known as Hari Raya Pusa or the festival of Aidilfitri.

In preparation for Hari Raya people decorate their houses with the new furniture and decoration. Mosques, government and commercials are also decorated and brightly lit to celebrate the day. The decorations used are often yellow or gold, but the majority are green, this is because the colour green is associated with the Islamic religion.

Women start to sew curtains and buy new clothes for their families a month early. Some people even renovate their houses so that it will be more suitable and appealing to guests that come for open houses during Hari Raya. On the morning of Hari Raya muslims will wear new clothes and go to the mosque to pray. During their prayers they offer thanks to god and ask for forgiveness from their elders, the younger members of a family approach their elders (parents, grandparents etc) to seek forgiveness, to salam (Muslim equivalent of a handshake), then kiss the hands of the older person as a sign of respect. This is an important tradition to follow, according to Muslims. By doing this Hari Raya has become the time to forgive and forget past fights that may have happened in the past year.

Hari Raya is also a time when lots of traditional food is found, the favourites are ketupat, longton, nasi pedang and beef rending. When the muslims visit their families it is a tradition for the children to be given money which is in green packets.

During Hari Raya many people leave the city and go back to their hometown, “kampung”, to reconnect with their families during the celebrations, this is known as “balik kampung”. Many muslims look forward to celebrating Hari Raya, this is because they can reconnect with their family, who they may not have seen for a long period of time.

Selamat Hari Raya! Have a good one xx