Experiencing Two Different Eid al-Fitr Celebrations

Assalaamu'alaykum ^^

How are you? I hope you are having a great day!

It'd been more than 4 months since we post our first English Collaboration. I somehow managed to post on time, although it's hard sometimes. ^^'

We will talk about Eid al-Fitr for our 9th post. It's still a week before Eid, but it's okay, right? Some food and beverage advertisement have been talking about Eid al-Fitr even before Ramadan  😁

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Credit: Pixabay

Eid al-Fitr is one of Islamic celebrations. We have two celebrations a year, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and the one coming soon is Eid al-Fitr.

Eid al-Fitr is on the first day of Syawwal, a month in Islamic Lunar Month (Hijriyah). The day before is the last time we fast. To know if Eid al-Fitr is here or not, on the 29th day of Ramadan, some people and places are chosen by the Government to see the appearance of crescent that indicates that the new month is here. If it is, then the next day is Eid, if it is not, then Eid is coming on the day after tomorrow. A night before Eid, we will hear every mosque repeat Eid takbir. On the day and the day after, too.

On that day, we perform eid salah in the morning. It's the same with Eid al-Adha. Eid salah is highly suggested to be performed on a wide field instead of mosque. The number of raka'ah is two, without adhan and iqamah. Slightly different from any two raka'ah salah, eid salah have 7 takbirs for the first raka'ah, and 5 for the second.

After performing Eid salah, some people go to neighbors' house on their way back home, and some people do that after having breakfast.

I always eat ketupat (diamond-shaped rice cake) for Eid day. We have chayote and tempeh cooked with coconut milk, beef semur, chicken opor, and spicy fried potato to eat with ketupat. Sometimes we cook them (except ketupat) ourselves, some other time we buy them from our neighbour.

After I got married, I always celebrate Eid al-Fitr in my husband hometown, and sometimes celebrating Eid al-Adha there. And for the past four years, I never have ketupat for Eid. Or to be precise, never had a chance to have it.

Read Mbak Diah's:

My Second Eid El-Fitr Away From Home

My husband said that in Klaten, they are having ketupat feast on D+6, not on D-day like I always have in Bekasi. The result, I never had a chance to eat ketupat in Klaten because we usually coming back home on D+2 or 3. The company is only give such short holiday. T_T

Sometimes I want to celebrate it with my family, but it is not possible for me now. My parents-in-law are so far away from my home, and my husband would like to celebrate with them, so I have to come with him. I can only pray for my family's happiness. :)

On D-day in Klaten, we have a lot of guests. Neighbors, relatives, and friends are coming that day. Younger ones come to the elders' house and perform sungkem, Javanese tradition for some occasions. The table is full of snacks for the guests. There are candies too for children. Sometimes I take some candies from the jar for myself #oops

The another difference is that in Klaten, cookies are uncommon. Only a very few houses have them, unlike in Bekasi that almost in every house have cookies. I always have cookies for Eid, though. I either buy them or given by someone. My most favorite is snow white cookies, the one using peanut for the dough. ^^

Despite of the differences, celebrating Eid day is fun, because we can celebrate it with our family. Some people may not having a chance to celebrate with their dearest, but they can still celebrate it with friends, and it is fun too.

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How were your Eid celebration in your country? Please tell me about it! ^^

Thank you for reading!