Saturday, 16 August 2014

The meaning of Aidilfitri to me

Name:Nor Azura bt Ramli
ID:ptm140716820

 Hari Raya Aidilfitri..the moment that all muslims wait. Hari Raya Puasa is also known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri, or simply called Hari Raya for short,It is also known as the festival that marks the end of one month of fasting. The words ‘Hari Raya’ mean 'day of celebration.' ..I can't wait to celebrate Hari Raya because I can meet my family,relatives and friends..Before I can celebrate Hari Raya,I have to go through the fasting month.  

What is fasting month?To me,fasting month is the one-month of the Islamic fasting when Muslims fast for a period of almost 12 hours.It is a known fact that during the period of fasting, apart from eating and drinking Muslims are also forbidden from smoking and having sexual relations. Only the sick are excused from fasting during this month. Muslims are expected to avoid lying, breaking promise or cheating during the Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to Allah. It is a time of spiritual reflection and during this month, Muslims are expected to put in more effort into following the teachings of Islam. Dressing in a good manner and uncouthly attitude, lying, as well as looking at irreligious sights are extremely frowned upon.Fasting usually starts at dawn and ends at sunset and families and fellow Muslims usually break their fast together.

In the office, Muslims usually do not go for lunch as they have to fast. As a result, a large number of white collar office workers get to leave work an hour earlier. Seeing as the country is made up of a Muslim majority, the streets of major cities will usually be clogged by heavier traffic than usual from as early as 4pm as they make their way home to break fast at sundown.
During the last 10 days of the Ramadan fast, many Muslims keep vigil for Lailatul Qadr (The Night of Decree), the night when the holy Quran was descended from the heavens along with angels showering their blessings. On that night, Muslim homes are brightly decorated with oil lamps to mark the special occasion.
When translated Hari Raya Puasa literally means “Celebrate the fast” or “Feast of Breaking the Fast” and Aidilfitri also has a similar meaning in Arabic. As the celebration marks an end to the Ramadan month, the first day of the celebration would fall on the first day of the Shawal month.
Every Muslim is also deemed compulsory to pay the Zakat al-Fitr before the end of the fasting month as long as he or she is fit to do so. The Zakat al-Fitr is charity given to the poor. The main purpose of the Zakat al-Fitr is to ensure that even the poor have the means to break fast and celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri like the rest of their fellow Muslims. The amount of Zakat is the same for every Muslim regardless of income or stature.The Zakat cannot be owed or paid back after the deadline has passed which is the last day of the month of Ramadan, and if a Muslim has not paid the Zakat after the deadline has passed, he or she has sinned. Other than the zakat, doing charity in general to help the poor during this time is greatly revered upon and encouraged. It is not uncommon to see people giving food and donating old clothes to the homeless and to the poor as it is believed that doing charity is more rewarding at this time of the year than at any other time.



Below is the situation at Bazaar Ramadhan during fasting time.



The joy and fun of Hari Raya actually start a week before Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The house is cleaned, decorated, readied with new furnishing and lighting of homemade small kerosene oil lamps to welcome the angels and attract spirit of passed relatives to descend home during the last 4 days of the Ramadhan. Usually, the most suggested color during the season is blue, gold or red. Cookies are also baked for the guests and relatives.
The shopping malls will hold big sales and promotions for shoppers to purchase raya goodies and clothes. You can hear Hari Raya songs, shopping malls and public areas are decorated.
On the 1st day of Hari Raya, all the children and youth will wear new traditional costumes. (Baju Melayu for Male and Baju Kurung or baju kebaya for Female) Me will ask for forgiveness from my beloved parents including the elders in the family, to salam (equivalent of handshake) then kiss the hands of the elders.After that, I will visit the graves and proceeds to the mosque for mandatory morning prayers.
Majority of my families will have open houses, where many of delicious and tasty Malay traditional dishes and cakes are served to friends and relatives during this festival season. Open houses are part of the Malaysian culture that invites neighbours of other races, relatives and friends to enjoy the celebrations together. The elders will give green packet of money to kids during their visit.
During Hari Raya Adilfitri,my mother will cook the main of traditional malay dish is Rendang  that is cooked together with spices, coconut milk and peanuts and serves with ketupat.

The rest of the day is spent visiting relatives or serving visitors. Hari Raya is  a very happening day for children for this is the day where adults tend to be extra-generous. Children will be given money, also known as duit raya from their parents and elders.


During the night, there are celebrations with sparklers and firecrackers, with emphasis on precautions and restrictions on playing certain firecrackers as enforced by the authorities. Usually the lighting of firecrackers begins a few days before the end of Ramadan, and continues for about a week afterwards.Below is my family picture during Aidilfitri.That how I celebrate my Hari Raya Aidilfitri with my family.









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We're from section 10 semester 1 students KPTM, Bangi in course Diploma in Business Management. This blog is a our project to get more marks for final exam and to get A's in subject Proficiency English 1. InshaAllah.