I hope it is not too late to wish Happy Eid to all. Even though the 1st Syawal has passed a week ago, the spirit is still lingering in the air. We had a great day preparing the dishes and welcoming the month of Syawal while saying goodbye to the month of Ramadhan. This year the preparation was done early. I got my kids a few selections of new clothing and shoes that they love very dearly. Also some biscuits from all sorts of shapes and taste as early as June. This year's spending was a little bit extravagance. Maybe because last year Eid was not celebrated much, so this year I had a vengeance! I got my kids two pairs of baju kurung, three shirts and blouses, and two skirts each, and of course a pair of new shoes for each of them. They deserve it because they have had no new clothing for a while and the celebration of Eid would be a good reason to get them new clothing. Well, to kill the guilt for over spending, I told myself that they would only be able to get them once a year, so I guess that soothed me a bit.
Talking about spending, besides the spiritual obligations on Ramadhan and Syawal, the coming of Eid means the emptying of ones' pockets. It has been a norm in our society that when Eid comes, we would offer duit raya or some money as gifts or sadaqah to friends and relatives, especially the children. We would put some amount of money in a small envelope and would distribute them to family members especially the nieces and nephews. They are the ones who are looking forward to the coming of Eid because that means they can collect lots of money. But to the adults, that would be a sigh. We would end up being pokai or almost bankrupt! :)
This year, my spirit to celebrate Eid was high. I did my best to make my fasting efforts worth every minute. But my spirit was dampened a bit two days before Eid as I caught up with a fever and running nose. I had promised my children earlier that I would bake them a cake. I also had planned to make chicken soto and macaroni pie besides the traditional dishes that you get during Eid like lemang, rendang and nasi impit. I was planning to bake a cake two days prior to Eid but the fever slowed me down.
But thank God, a day before Eid, as promised and after being asked by my kids when I would whip out those sugar and butter, I manage to make those three dishes in a day, still with a running nose and a hoarse voice and the sewing of beads on my baju raya in between. Thanks to the fever but a promise is meant to be kept. I would not feel easy until I have fulfilled what I promised them earlier, so voila! With the right attitude and strong will power, I whipped out the sugar and butter, also cooked a huge pot of chicken soup for my chicken soto, blended the chillies, and baked macaroni pie in less than a day! I guess good planning did it all! We had many round of those dishes and they disappeared very fast as we kept coming for seconds!
To top it all, we had a great Eid and is still celebrating it with open houses until the end of Syawal. Well, that's how Malaysians celebrate their Eid'l Fitri! :) We open our houses for every one and it's the spirit that keep us all together!
Salam Eid'l Fitri to all!
Talking about spending, besides the spiritual obligations on Ramadhan and Syawal, the coming of Eid means the emptying of ones' pockets. It has been a norm in our society that when Eid comes, we would offer duit raya or some money as gifts or sadaqah to friends and relatives, especially the children. We would put some amount of money in a small envelope and would distribute them to family members especially the nieces and nephews. They are the ones who are looking forward to the coming of Eid because that means they can collect lots of money. But to the adults, that would be a sigh. We would end up being pokai or almost bankrupt! :)
This year, my spirit to celebrate Eid was high. I did my best to make my fasting efforts worth every minute. But my spirit was dampened a bit two days before Eid as I caught up with a fever and running nose. I had promised my children earlier that I would bake them a cake. I also had planned to make chicken soto and macaroni pie besides the traditional dishes that you get during Eid like lemang, rendang and nasi impit. I was planning to bake a cake two days prior to Eid but the fever slowed me down.
But thank God, a day before Eid, as promised and after being asked by my kids when I would whip out those sugar and butter, I manage to make those three dishes in a day, still with a running nose and a hoarse voice and the sewing of beads on my baju raya in between. Thanks to the fever but a promise is meant to be kept. I would not feel easy until I have fulfilled what I promised them earlier, so voila! With the right attitude and strong will power, I whipped out the sugar and butter, also cooked a huge pot of chicken soup for my chicken soto, blended the chillies, and baked macaroni pie in less than a day! I guess good planning did it all! We had many round of those dishes and they disappeared very fast as we kept coming for seconds!
To top it all, we had a great Eid and is still celebrating it with open houses until the end of Syawal. Well, that's how Malaysians celebrate their Eid'l Fitri! :) We open our houses for every one and it's the spirit that keep us all together!
Salam Eid'l Fitri to all!
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