Hari Raya Idul Fitri

By Indri

On Monday 20 September 2009 we, the Muslims, after a long month of fasting, celebrated Idul Fitri 1430H. It was the honoured day we’ve been waiting anxiously for. Unfortunately our plans were easily swayed when my older brother fell very sick and was admitted to hospital that day. As much as we’ve been excited to welcome the special day, our hunger for celebration receded dramatically.

As part of the custom of the day, Dad and I proceeded to attend the Idul Fitri prayer, while Mom and my older sister comforted my brother in hospital. Once the prayer was done I went home and went ahead cleaning the whole house. I was delighted when Mom returned home and cooked Papaya leaf stew for ketupat dish. As Hari Raya is a time to reconcile and renew relationships with others, I begged forgiveness from my Mom and Dad. After we paid our respects, Mom hurried back to the hospital.

On this day, we are expected to visit relatives, so I traveled to Yana, Intan and Cynthia’s home taking the chance to meet and greet each of them. After paying my respects, I went to my grandmother seeking for her forgiveness. Her house was not far away. To my joyful surprise my cousins had already arrived and were waiting. We gathered together and forgiveness was exchanged toward each other.

That hari raya, I did not celebrate with my own family but instead with my cousins and their parents. We spent the whole day visiting the neighbours and other families in the area. At noon, we went back to grandmas and for lunch and a well-deserved break.

When I arrived back home, kak Lucy and kak Welly were there, whilst kak Vera was just arriving. When we all were present we went straight to the Cakung study hall. With the useful help of Jemima, Ester and Yulia we got the place clean and tidy. Kak Debby arrived when we were finished; she invited the Cakung children to the study hall.

After Kak Debby and the other elders greeted the children, we headed out to visit the neighbouring residents. The first resident was Susi, but we soon discovered she has left to her hometown. Next we walked over to Desi’s house and we asked forgiveness from her Mom before we continued on to Kartini’s house. Kartini’s Mom was very hospitable for she offered snacks and drinks. We all had a good time greeting each other. After that, we went to Tia’s house and swallowed up the delicious rengginang cake her mom made especially for this day.

With still more to visit, we carried on and went to see Satria and Ari. We spent some time in gazebo and enjoyed the beautiful weather before proceeding to Yana’s. She had a very comfortable place, but we couldn’t stay for long for my cousins pleaded to visit my brother in the hospital. My cousins and I left the gang and headed towards the hospital. My cousins greeted my mother and my sister and settled in for a nice chat while accompanying my sick brother. When the others started to leave, I stayed beside my mother in the hospital, until it was well deep into the night.