Thursday, October 02, 2008

Salam AidilFitri 2008

Hari Raya 2008 Family Portrait

A tradition we do every year.

After morning Hari Raya prayers at Al Gufran Mosque with Sonny, breakfast was waiting for us at home prepared by Wifey. As usual, it was quite awkward to actually eat during the day after fasting for a month from dawn till dusk.

More awkward was the feeling after breakfast in my stomach. The engine inside was trying to get back to the norm like the rest of the 11 months of the year. Fortunately, it soon passed and I felt alright again.

Going for morning Raya prayer starting at 8:00AM

Getting dressed in our newly bought traditional Malay clothes... Wifey in her flowery-maroon Baju Kurung, while Sonny and myself in silver clothes and matching maroon Kain Samping. Wifey looked like a million bucks... stunning!

Like every year for the past 13 years, we had our family photo taken in our living room.

Like every year too, the furniture got shifted here and there and coupled with some new stuff like the cushion covers Wifey picked, the living room took-on a new look for the year... ready to receive visitors.

This year, apart from our family photo-taking, three new additions make this year's celebration even nicer...

First, is the LED blinking lights I hung outside our corridor garden more cheerful and festive. Something I stopped doing for many years when we had to take the lights out when HDB repainted the flat.

Candid salam minta maaf or seeking forgiveness

Second, I timer-snapped photos of our "seeking forgiveness ritual." Something all Muslims do to mend strained or straying relationships from wrong doings we did or may have unknowingly done to the people we love and to our relatives, friends and neighbours.

Third, I decided to surprise Wifey and Sonny with a "Raya Green Pack" - stuffed with a S$100 each. An annual gift I hope to give them as long as I can afford it. Come to think of it, I should have done this years ago... but is never too late to start.

I was glad I did it. It brought pleasant surprises and wide smiles to these two precious people in my life. Seeing that and receiving bear hugs and kisses were priceless!

All set and done... we left for my parents' home in Woodlands.

Wifey's Mom moved back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia years ago, so we greeted, talked and sought forgiveness from her over the phone instead of visiting her at her West Coast Road home since we first got married.

Wifey's Dad had passed on due to a heart attack a little over two years before I met her. I never got to meet him in person, unfortunately.

We spent time at my parents' place a shorter period this year. The home was filled with chatters and laughter as the siblings catch-up, enjoying each others' company.

We however, had to cut our visit short and left by 6:00PM instead of the usual after midnight due to the final year exams my son, nephews and nieces were to take the next day onwards. Bummer! But necessary.

Nevertheless, we will congregate again with a chartered coach for Raya visits to everybody's homes next Saturday with the exams finally over.

It will be a whole day event and it is going to be fun as well as a chance to catch-up on things some more with scrumptious meals at every home. Love this time of the year!

It is a celebration.
It is about forgiveness and about strengthening ties.
It is about family.
It is about joy in life.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

9 comments:

  1. It made me happy just reading this entry. You all look fantastic in the pictures. I think we'd all do well to apologize to all family members for what we've done to hurt them. Seems like a lovely tradition.

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  2. the clothes, your home - beautiful.
    the fast - wow!!
    good luck to your son :)

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  3. Imran... wah hensome sungguh Imran nih... suka Abg Bear tengok gambar sekeluraga tu... anyway

    Bersempena dengan Aidil Fitri tahun 2008 ini, Abang Bear mintak maaf atas segala keterlanjuran .....kita melangkah meninggalkan ramadhan yg barakah dgn berat hatinya di samping gembira menyambut tibanya syawal yg mulia.... semoga persaudaraan kita kekal dan sentiasa dalam redha Allah.....

    Ketupat diletak di atas para
    Rendang diletak di bawah titi
    Andai ada tersilap bahasa
    Maaf dipinta menyusun jari

    Adat jauh kata mengata
    Adat dekat puji memuji
    Andai ada tersilap kata
    Maaf dipinta sepuluh jari

    Sungai disusur sepanjang sehari
    Dalam gelap menangkap ikan
    Kami menyusun sepuluh jari
    Salah dan silap harap maafkan

    Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri
    Maaf zahir dan batin dari Abang Bear

    wassalam

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  4. Hello, I am a blog friend of Rhiannon's and decided to click on your recent comment from her's and find your post and photos very beautiful and interesting. My husband and I live in Michigan and there is a Muslim temple (correct name?) near us and there must be celebrations going as the traffic has been very heavy. Your family is beautiful and I especially take to heart the forgiveness ritual. My family is my husband, my mother, father and brother have died. I've noted your cheerful and uplifting comments on Rhi's blog and want to thank you.
    SisSTAR Kylita sends you blessings for your holy celebrations.

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  5. Thank you for your kind comments. I couldn't sleep and saw them at 3:30 am ... now it's 11 am and I must admit ... I just figured out how to make the little hamster run on his wheel and get excited over the strawberry - fun! I went outside in the sunshine to get some photos of morning glories from my mother-in-law's seeds of years ago that I hadn't realized had reseeded and my cat decided to pose for a few also. Not much sleep but the sun is too pretty to go back to bed now.
    Blessings on your week.
    SisSTAR Kyle

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  6. wow, i just loved all your clothes br, and all the rituals and pics and everything!

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  7. Hello All,

    Thank you for stopping by and leaving your comments.

    Donna | I think this period provides the perfect opportunity to seek forgiveness especially to those who are too proud or too shy to do so on a normal day.

    DeeJay | It is indeed a beautiful time for us. Thank you.

    Andrew | Once a year we must get things cleaned-up and ready to receive visitors and go visiting ourselves which we have difficulty doing on normals days due to everybody's busy life.

    We are praying hard for Sonny to do well again for his finals.

    BeruangMadu | Salam sejahtera pada BM juga. Selamat Hari Raya bersama keluarga and teman-teman. Maaf zahir batin.

    Pantun yang indah yang patut di jawap, tetapi saya tak pandai berpantun. Nevertheless, terima kasih... isteri saya suka sangat pada pantun ini bila saya tunjukkan kepadanya.

    Sis*Star | This celebration is worldwide and interestingly enough very near to your home town.

    We call our place of worship a Mosque instead of a temple.

    It is sad that you've lost many of your family, but they are in a better place now.

    Family means everything to me. The reason I work and live my life. Like you, I cherish the days we have with each other for as long as we can be together.

    Yes, like you too, I thrive on beautiful days. I'd rather loose my sleep than loose enjoying the day.

    Crashy | Guided by our religion and a mixture of Malay cutlure and my family traditions blended into one which we proudly call our own.


    Thank you again everyone. Have an wonderful year!

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  8. What a fantastic family portrait...and how young you and wifey look!
    Has a year passed already since the last portrait and celebrations?
    Time sure flies by.
    I love the contrast of the silver and maroon. Super.

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Hello Everyone,

Thank you for stopping by and leaving me your messages. I will also try to answer any questions you may have for me.

Thanks again and have a good day.

Regards,
Muhd Imran
PAL Blogger