Hello, Arisa here. 🙂 Last week, we celebrated Eid-Al-Fitr holiday, and it was wonderfully joyful and restful.

Since Indonesia is a Muslim country, it’s pretty convincing to say that Eid Al-Fitr holiday is one of the most important holidays there ever is in this country. It happens every year on the date of the 1st Syawal (Islamic date system). It could be celebrated every day as Syawal month calculation is different from a regular calendar system.

Eid Al-Fitr is a beautiful day for most Muslims. It is a very important and special day to them. They have lots of different activities and rituals on how to celebrate this day fully. There is this thing called Zakat Fitrah which stems from a belief that Muslims have to gift people (especially those who are poor) something like rice. This is truly an astounding way to share their happiness with other people.

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Another activity is done in the morning of Eid Al-Fitr. People are encouraged to do a Eid prayer which usually starts from 7AM. It has 2 Rakaat, and is unique from the ordinary prayers Muslims usually perform because there is Khotbah. Khotbah is a preaching speech given by the leader of the prayer. It can last up from 30 to 45 minutes.

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After the prayer, they will go home and do their Eid Al-Fitr traditions. One of the tradition is to ask for forgiveness from family. There will be moments when a child is moved to tears from asking his/her parent’s forgiveness. This will be reciprocated by the parents. In the end, all is well.

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A lot of catching up on conversations with friends and family happen during Eid-Al-Fitr, most especially on the topic of traditions. These traditions are practiced by every Muslim and non-Muslim in Indonesia. Some of these traditions are: Mudik (travel to their hometown), holiday for non-Muslim people, do’a takbeer, new clothes, forgiveness traditions, family photo-taking, and last but most definitely not the least – food.

What a great way to celebrate, spend quality time with family and catch up with friends.

Looking forward to the next one! 🙂

Arisa