Selamat Hari Raya Puasa!

Today marks the celebration of Hari Raya Puasa in Singapore for the Muslim community. I'm non-Muslim, but I get to benefit from it as it is a public holiday as well.

Many (non-Muslim) people consider it as the "Muslim New Year", even a taxi driver asked me if I would be enjoying half day off at work for this "Muslim New Year". However this is in fact incorrect. Hari Raya Puasa falls on the 9th month of the Muslim calander, whereas their new year, a not so significant day, falls on the first month.

Being one of the most important festivals of the Muslim world, the celebration started a month earlier by fasting. This culture of fasting was practised as a form of self-discipline, and all Muslims (children, pregnant ladies and sick people) are required to fast from sunrise till sunset. In Singapore and Malaysia, only Muslims are required to fast, but in places like Saudi Arabia, even non-Muslims (foreign workers) have to follow this culture!

Speaking of fasting, there was once recently where I almost "fasted" for a day, and it was terrible. On that day, I had my breakfast as usual at around 6 in the morning (the sun wasn't up yet), and worked throughout the day without any lunch or tea breaks in between till after sunset. Not that I'm trying to behave like a Muslim, but I was too busy to even eat. At the end of the day, I was so hungry that I had to buy some chocolate to eat before heading back for dinner. I wonder how the Muslims managed to fast continuously for a month, when one day without food is already so tough!

Fasting ends on the day of Hari Raya Puasa. On this day, every household will prepare lots of Malay food and pastries to celebrate. Speaking of which reminds me of my ex-neighbours in my previous neighbourhood. On my adjacent unit was a Muslim family, and although we seldom communicate due to language barrier, they'd always bring us alot of festive goodies during Hari Raya Puasa. The mistress of the family was just an ordinary housewife, but the food she made were very delicious. In return for her kindness, we would give them red packets (we did not have green packets) as a form of blessing. That was one of the "highlights" for Hari Raya Puasa then to me, since I knew nothing about the festival back then as I was still quite young. How memorable those days were! However, the family shifted away a few years later, and since then we had lost touch.

These years, Hari Raya Puasa to me is simply another festive holiday as I do not have any Malay friends to celebrate with. Nevertheless, I'd still like to wish all Muslims out there "Selamat Hari Raya Puasa Aidilfitri"!