Skip to main content

Eid traditions

It is almost that time of the year again. 
Children aren't complaining as much as they used to, as if transfixed on an idea of what the next few days would promise them. 
Adults seem to have a distant look in their eyes, as they mentally start their journeys of 'balik kampung', even before the workday is officially over.

Excitement is buzzing through the air,  and everywhere, the atmosphere seems charged with an almost magical energy.

Eid is only a few days away...

Soon the hunger will be satisfied. 
Soon the wallets will be full of money 'extorted' from relatives. 
Soon the happy faces of family and loved ones arriving at the doorsteps, arms outstretched  and full of embrace.

As the countdown to Raya grows nearer, families start their ritual traditions...Some start buying ingredients to prepare the sumptuous array of ketupat, rendang, and sambal kacang. Some start taking their best curtains out to the wash, or even buy new curtains to show off to the neighbours.

My family does one extra.

Every Raya, we sing.

And a few days before raya, we practice singing...

As incredible as incredible as it may sound, it has been a long-practiced tradition in my family (on my mother's side) that all the nephews and nieces (my generation) and would have to perform something for our elders (my parents' and grandparents' generations), before we could even smell our 'duit raya'. 
So, on Raya morning, after we'd finished the feast and gone for our Eid prayers, all the aunts and aunties would assemble and sit on the sofas arranged in a semi-circle. 
Next, one by one, according to age, the youngest being first, we would have to stand in front of them and perform anything that our little hearts desired. 
This would include badly (though cutely) sung renditions of Negaraku, showtunes from famous musicals, or even 'silat' performances (which I was guilty of many, many years ago)...

What would result is something along the lines of "America's Got Talent", with these two exceptions: First, instead of thousands of screaming Americans, it would be my mother's side of the family (aptly labeled Familymuar). Second, instead of a 'talent' show, we'd get a 'slight-talent' show, or even a 'no-talent' show.

But, it's all done in good fun... And a pocketful of 'duit raya'.


Hey...

Wait a minute...

Why am I still performing, even though I don't get any 'duit raya'?


Comments

izzati fuad said…
hehe..sir, do your acting!! mesti dapat banyak duit raya. :D

selamat hari raya!! got our lil card for ya?
siraydee said…
It's not about the duit raya...

...but that, coming from me, doesn't sound right hehehe :-D
siraydee said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Greg Wee said…
OH, so that's where the Americans got the idea for American Idol.
A t i Q a h said…
hahaha..thats a unique tradition ive ever heard. tapi kalau u nyanyi mesti semua orang terpegun. hoho.

u dont get any duit raya, n u're performing? hmm..because u're still one of their granchildren? hihi.

happy raya sir. sorry for all the wrong deeds i've done. :)
Gukita said…
Bang,
After so long this is a total surprise to me; never heard you having that tradtion before from FamilyMuar b4 reading this blog. But come to think of it; NOt Bad... Not Bad at all.. Gives that kind of personality show and help us do away with painful self consciousness that plagued my formative years. Maybe I should tiru this tradition if ever I can start Eid celeb from my own home; of which I never had any opportunity;..oops.. one trial too long ago that ended so badly, I would not care to remember..
Ijat,
I fear the doors to duit raya are no longer open to me :(

Aydee,
It's ALWAYS about the duit raya!

Greg,
U wanna come on as the judge? I'll let u even be the first guy..but u have to talk with a British accent lah..

Atiqah,
Unfortunately, my grandparents have all passed away, my grandmother being the last...
Maaf zahir batin to u too :)

Pakcik Ali,
Why not give it a try and see how it goes..And don't forget to videotape everything and send us a copy!
azie said…
sir,
mau duit raya. nyanyi tu, kemudian boleh,ehehe
Azie,
Apa apa lagi?...nyanyi lah... baru blh claim duit raya...muuuuaaahahaha!
Fauziah Ismail said…
Salam Abdullah
Cool! I almost wished that we had such a tradition in our family but knowing my own family members, once they hold a microphone, some will not want to let go (no, not the grandnieces and grandnephews but their granduncles and grandaunties!)
In our family, we go out visiting on the first day of Syawal, receive friends and family on the second and maximum lepak at the house on the third (there will still be friends and relatives coming on the 3rd).
Syafiq Suraji said…
ahaha...coz its ur tradition sir...huhu...nway slamat hari raya sir...ampun maaf 4 all my wrong doings to u....nnt nk dtg rmh kamu yer mr abdullah...prepare duit raye byk2....rmh da bru..so duit pn nk bru gak...haha...jokin2...nway i,va tagged u...so if ade mase leh la buat ek...don made break the rulez..haha
Salam Fauziah,

You'll never guess what happened this Raya... One of my uncles brings along his laptop,connects it to portable speakers, and starts blasting karaoke from it...and for the first time in history, it was the aunts and uncles who stole the show!!! Along with some duit raya mind you! But it was fun watching them do it... I guess that's years of pent up energy at just watching the children perform...Hehehehe...

Good thing they could hold a tune...
Syafiq,

What's with the tag! Haiyaaaa...
U want duit raya? hehehehe...
Get in line and start performing.
Yana Ismail said…
Sir!uhuhu..nak duit raya?hik2..kami mau serbu umah you,leh kan?;)
Princess,

Boleeeeh...please do..nnt I buat open house insyaallah.
Count Byron said…
You have always been the life of the performance. Well done son. I am extremely proud of you.

Now, do that Soldier of Fortune one more time for Dad, please.
affendik? said…
guess after this i'd ask the whole class to perform something in front of your room, and then we'd line up 4 d much awaited duit raya..hehe

eid mubarak, sir! =]
Dad,
For you, anytime... :)

Onn,
Devoius little fellow aren't you?...
Hehehehe...
Eid Mubarak to you to...
Anonymous said…
wow you can sing? can you sing for me? kkk
Mucho, my concert rates are RM1500 for 30 minutes... You interested ;)

Popular posts from this blog

Help is always far away

Help is never far away. That is the old adage that has been drummed into us ever since we were young. No matter where you are, and what difficulty you are going through, someone will be close at hand to help. Except they aren't. Many a time no one in your vicinity gives a rat's ass. Or could be in a mess of their own to even think that someone else may need the support. Just that little bit of assurance to show that they care. Sometimes it can be in the smallest things. A kind word. A check up of how one is doing. Yet help does come. Someone takes the time to respond, in short messages, all the way from across the Pacific Ocean. Someone does take the time to relate, and share their own experiences, and offers words of comfort from across the country. Yes, help is at hand, but it is always far away. *picture credit here

The Forbidden Kingdom No More

Yesterday is a day that would forever go down the sands of time as... "The Day I Fed Two Hundred Ravenous Mouths with Bottomless Pits" Oh the horror!... The Pain!... The Suffering!!! Like a swarm of locusts they came, wave upon wave upon wave... Like a farmer protecting his crop I could only look on and stare, as they darkened the sky, before zeroing in for the kill... Tears streamed down my eyes as I watched them strip every last grain of maize and corn that I had planted at the begininning of the year... My knees thudded to the ground, as I numbly watched the carnage around me, my tired brain barely registering what my eyes perceived. "So this is what it feels like"... I thought in my brain... "This thing called Open House" . .. ... Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I'm just being dramatic here ;) Yesterday was actually a day that I'm going to remember for a long time, simply because it was graced with the presence of those eager young minds I he

My nightmare come true

This is it. It's finally happened. The stuff of bad dreams for many language teachers has today materialised for me, rearing its ugly head, scoffing at my abilities as a language professional. This is an actual letter from one of my students as part of their coursework. Final year student. Soon to graduate and meet the workforce of the nation. Read it and weep...