HARI RAYA PUASA

The Malays in Singapore share their festive calendar with many Muslims across the world. One of the most significant and major Malay festivals celebrated will be Hari Raya Puasa, also known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which literally means the 'celebration day of fasting'. It falls on the first day of the tenth lunar month of the Islamic calendar.

The Muslims will start to fast one month before Hari Raya Puasa, this month is known as Ramadan. They will wake up before the sun rises to pray and eat breakfast. After this early meal, they will not take any more food or liquid till the sun sets and this will last for the whole month of Ramadan.

                                       Picture taken from: http://www.ameinfo.com/news/Company_News/S/Singapore_Tourism_Board__STB_/



In the meantime, the Muslim families will also be busy preparing for this celebration. They busy themselves with buying new household items and clothing, baking cakes and cookies and cleaning up the house. The purchasing of new items and clothing signify renewal and celebration, which is part and parcel of the their culture. They will usually make their purchases at Gelyang Serai, where a temporary street market will be set up specially for the preparation of the Hari Raya Puasa. They will sell a wide variety of things, ranging from food to clothing, and even potted plants. The males will wear Baju Melayu and the females will wear Baju Kurung or Bajy Kebaya. They are usually very brightly coloured and sometimes with floral prints on it. You can pay a visit to Geylang Serai to enjoy the festive atmosphere,buy the traditional clothing and taste delicious Malay delicacies during the Ramadan Period.

A type of Malay cookies

Baju Kebaya( for females)

Baju Melayu ( for males)


On the morning of Hari Raya Puasa, children will greet their parents for their forgiveness on their wrongdoings for the past one year and blessing for the coming year. After this ceremony, the whole family will cleansed themselves,dressed up in their new clothing and visit the mosque.


Sultan Mosque

During the festival, it is customary for friends and relatives to visit one another to exchange good wishes and delicacies that are specially made for the occasion. Children will also receive Duit Raya, which is a token sum of money wrapped in a green envelope. The Malay delicacies include beef Rendang, cookies and cakes, Ketuput and Satays.


Satay and Ketupat

Even though this festival last for one month traditionally, but in the highly urbanized Singapore, most of the activities will only take place in the first three days of celebration.

Reference:
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_919_2004-12-20.html
http://www.experiencefestival.com/hari_raya_puasa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hari_Raya_Aidilfitri
http://www.pahang-delights.com/pahang-traditional-Malay-costumes.html
http://www.marimari.com/cOnTENT/singapore/food/malay/malay.html