Raya was just like any other Raya except that now I have an additional member in the family to celebrate it with. This year is Muhammad Raqib’s first Raya. So Ayah bought him a baju melayu (which was a little too big for him so we had to fold it for quite a number of times) and Bie bought him his first ketayap.
Since I had no one to take care of the kids, I couldn’t go to the mosque for the solat Raya. Felt a little sad because as you grow older, what is Raya without doing the solat and takbir Raya. I mean, doing the solat and the takbir are basically the things a grown up looks forward to when it comes to Raya in order to make the Raya meaningful (also the food lah, but that’s another thing). This is of course purely my opinion.
After the whole family got back from the mosque, my parents sat on the sofa and each and everyone of us had to do the annual ritual of asking for forgiveness, salam and hug. I remember being very dramatic when it comes to salam session when I was a lot younger. It wasn’t ‘sad dramatic’ but ‘happy dramatic’. Asking forgiveness for almost everything, which brought smiles to others around me at that time. It was funny. Those were the days.
After we had the lemang, rendang, nasi himpit and the lontong, we rested a bit and after Zohor we went to visit our arwah Uwan. Prayers were recited and water was sprinkled on top of the grave. Uwan left us on 31 July 2005. It was sad, but it was meant to be. Then we went to an aunt’s house and after that, we got home. We didn’t go out much on the first Raya. We were just tired and wanted to sleep.
The next day we went back to Kuala Pilah to visit my Uwan Teh. After eating lemang and chicken rendang (which was actually very nice), we went to Pak Ngah’s house. And we ate some more. By the time we got back to my parents’ house, we were so stuffed that we didn’t have anymore dinner that night. The next day was already the third Raya. And as per the annual ritual cum agreement I had with Bie, we headed back to KL to be with my in-laws. And of course we went to several houses and ate till we were full. I tell you, I think I have put on a lot of weight during this Raya.
Surprisingly, I had quite a nice time this Raya. Well, most of it was because we went to visit relatives and friends. My children also received quite a lot of duit Raya. In terms of dollars and cents, I don’t really know how much they received because I haven’t opened the packets yet. Malaslah. Will do it later, when I’m up for it.
That was how more or less my Raya was spent. Weird enough though, many of my friends this year aren’t doing open houses. I have not received a single open house invitation at all as at to date (except for Yamm’s this Saturday – can’t wait for that. She will always bake her famous Baked Macaroni) and that is completely the opposite of last year where open houses invitations were a lot (especially from my office friends). Except that because I was sick thanks to my morning sicknesses, I didn’t attend any. Such a shame.
Oh well… anyhow, I’d like to share some Raya pictures with you. Enjoy.
Since I had no one to take care of the kids, I couldn’t go to the mosque for the solat Raya. Felt a little sad because as you grow older, what is Raya without doing the solat and takbir Raya. I mean, doing the solat and the takbir are basically the things a grown up looks forward to when it comes to Raya in order to make the Raya meaningful (also the food lah, but that’s another thing). This is of course purely my opinion.
After the whole family got back from the mosque, my parents sat on the sofa and each and everyone of us had to do the annual ritual of asking for forgiveness, salam and hug. I remember being very dramatic when it comes to salam session when I was a lot younger. It wasn’t ‘sad dramatic’ but ‘happy dramatic’. Asking forgiveness for almost everything, which brought smiles to others around me at that time. It was funny. Those were the days.
After we had the lemang, rendang, nasi himpit and the lontong, we rested a bit and after Zohor we went to visit our arwah Uwan. Prayers were recited and water was sprinkled on top of the grave. Uwan left us on 31 July 2005. It was sad, but it was meant to be. Then we went to an aunt’s house and after that, we got home. We didn’t go out much on the first Raya. We were just tired and wanted to sleep.
The next day we went back to Kuala Pilah to visit my Uwan Teh. After eating lemang and chicken rendang (which was actually very nice), we went to Pak Ngah’s house. And we ate some more. By the time we got back to my parents’ house, we were so stuffed that we didn’t have anymore dinner that night. The next day was already the third Raya. And as per the annual ritual cum agreement I had with Bie, we headed back to KL to be with my in-laws. And of course we went to several houses and ate till we were full. I tell you, I think I have put on a lot of weight during this Raya.
Surprisingly, I had quite a nice time this Raya. Well, most of it was because we went to visit relatives and friends. My children also received quite a lot of duit Raya. In terms of dollars and cents, I don’t really know how much they received because I haven’t opened the packets yet. Malaslah. Will do it later, when I’m up for it.
That was how more or less my Raya was spent. Weird enough though, many of my friends this year aren’t doing open houses. I have not received a single open house invitation at all as at to date (except for Yamm’s this Saturday – can’t wait for that. She will always bake her famous Baked Macaroni) and that is completely the opposite of last year where open houses invitations were a lot (especially from my office friends). Except that because I was sick thanks to my morning sicknesses, I didn’t attend any. Such a shame.
Oh well… anyhow, I’d like to share some Raya pictures with you. Enjoy.
