raya in malaysia ... memories ...

Hari Raya Aidilfitri is juzzzz around d corner =) Since zek started it all with his raya songs dwld spree and the emo msg at the side bar chatbox, i felt like sharing how raya is for me...

In Malaysia

NEVER EVER have i spent the first day of raya at my own place in JB (unless i was too young to remember..ehehe)...and NEVER EVER have i spent the first day of raya not at my grandparents' place (Mom's side) at Sungai Ayam, Batu Pahat, Johor...unless, of course, i was too young to remember =P why mom's side? coz my dad is chinese mar...so there is no dilemma in where to celeb raya every year, same goes for chinese new year =)

I really like it there...traditional malay house, elevated from d ground, all made of wood...with frontyard of gravel about the width of a basketball court, but almost double in length...coconut trees lining up the sides, some other flowers, pokok ciku, some banana trees...and at the end of the frontyard, a lil wooden bridge that allows only one car to cross at a time, across a river where i used to swim in when i was younger with my bro n cuzins, connecting the house to the small, main kampung road where about a bus and a car can go side by side slowly...looking at one direction, there's a mountain - Gunung Banang...and about 1km down the road in another direction, there is the watergate where the lil river meets its taikor, where the 'kuala' part starts...with fishing boats around...and not far further, the sea....

ahhh...this post almost sounded like one about my kampung =) anyway, raya time, my grandma would wake me up very early, and i would thot that we are having sahur...haha...terbiasa puasa ma =P i would go find any available water taps to wudhu' and then perform subuh prayers...then we all would have to take turns to use the only bathroom there, and there are so many ppl..uncles and aunts...cousins in the dozens...the girls would take longer baths, naturally =P

i would go to the kitchen to see what's already prepared...knowing my granda didnt sleep all nite to cook the ketupats and all the raya delicacies...i would steal some fried potatoes and tofu that my grandma and the women in d kitchen are gonna use to make my fav sambal goreng...after i finally got to use the bathroom, i will wear my baju raya...and you see around the house filled with excitement...."mana butang baju??" "alaaa, baju x iron lagi" "mak, taknak warna ni laaa" ... the kids are noisy and a handful for their parents - parents dress up last...

when everyone is done...comes the most touching moment in the whole raya celeb...we all gather in the living room...my grandma start...she would hold n kiss the hands of my grandpa, asking for forgiveness in that special day...and my grandpa would tell her, he forgives her, and that he makes halal all the things he gave her, and he also asks for forgiveness...and then its my parents and uncs and aunts' turn to ask forgiveness from my grandma n grandpa....and among themselves...and then its our turn - the grandkids of the family...

then grandpa would go to his old honda kapcai, wanting to go to the mosque early for the raya prayers...and not so long after that, all the guys will make a move to go to the mosque...and the women will be preparing for the big breakfast...sometimes i would go with my grandpa so that he doesnt need to be driving (i like riding that ol bike)...sometimes i would go with one of the many cars parked in the frontyard...along the way, i would see many people on their bikes or in their cars headed d same way...i wave to everyone...it doesnt matter if i know them or not, everyone is friendly and would wave or nod back...

back from the raya prayer...its time for the big breakfast...ketupat (traditional in-the-coconut-leaf-sarung, not instant), all the rendangs, kuah kacang, sambal goreng, kueh, err...cant remember exactly what else, but definitely all d raya goodies...and we would eat together, everyone...and then we would get kids from around the kampung visiting the house...most i dont even know who they are...but my grandma would always know, "ooo, ni cucu si semah ye?" something like that...and they would chill at the living room enjoying the raya kueh in jars and after hinting for 'duit raya' (green packets with money inside), and getting them, they would soon be on their way to the next house...sometimes i wonder, these kids walk around the whole kampung??gila tabah!

i would soon go with my family to relative's and friend's houses around the area...visiting them all, catching up...enjoying the various kueh that they prepared...and go 'JACKPOT!' when i found the ones i crave for (and naturally having lots of em)...hehe...in the process of all this visiting, i also pocket some duit raya myself =) as i grow up, duit raya collection had declined dramatically, but its not all bad, coz from chinese new year, the angpow gets bigger with age =)

well...if im not going out, i will be at home watching tv or playing with my cousins and all, while finishing the jars of kueh lined up in the living room...not one set, but 2 sets of em...and my mom would always go...aiyoo, these are for guests, go grab from the kitchen if you want, leceh la always need to refill them...hehe, something like that la translation...me and my bro would also sometimes ride on my grandpa's ol bike around the kampung....go to the seaside...or juz go wandering around...go to the shop n buy ice cream or sumthin...hehe... (but we do this all the time we are at batu pahat anyway =P )

then there would be the 'bara-an' as they call it, or 'marhaban' as some would know it...its a large group of locals, about 30-50 ppl, moving from house to house...covering the whole kampung...there are the group of young guys...group of older men...the group of women...all either on motorbikes or bicycles, often that reflects on their age...they would go to one house...visiting the family...spreading some happiness and praise for Allah and the prophet...and then they would move on to the next house...of coz, these groups dont all come in one day, you will probably have the guys in one day, and the women in some other day...

i used to follow my grandpa with the old ppl's group (coz kids usually follow the old ppl)...and it can get tiring...but its a lot of fun...you get to know people from your own kampung, you make friends, you joke around, you try some specialties that the hosts would prepare for you...and if you're lucky, you get duit raya too =)

and at night, oil lamps will line up along the frontyard...there will be those colourful lights decoration...i will play with sparklers and firecrackers...and thunderclaps and airbomb and all those things...trying to beat whatever noise heard from anyone that's playing firecrackers too...trying to be the loudest...and i remember a long long long time ago...my uncles and my grandpa made this cannon out of an old coconut tree trunk...whoaahhhh...its juz all boom boom boom...

of coz, when i go back to JB from my holiday in BP, the raya mood is still on...i would be visiting my neighbours and friends and open houses and all...i would also have guests at my place...

thats how raya usually is for me when i was in malaysia...it's all different now that im not in malaysia...but its still good enuff for me...i will talk about how raya is here some other time...

juz a note, while being excited about raya, lets not forget that the curtains are slowly falling for ramadhan...lets not waste this opportunity and may this ramadhan is meaningful - only then that raya will be as glorious =)