By Hafiz Asnawi
It is been three weeks we enjoy our holy month of Ramadhan  by fasting in morning and doing terawih prayer at night. As Muslims, it is an obligation for us to fast because to fulfill one of our duty as a Muslim and to honor our prophet Rasulullah S.A.W. In Malaysia, we welcome Ramadhan with a deep sense of celebration and joy.
We have food bazaars opened along streets around 5pm till 7pm and fittingly called it “Bazaar Ramadhan.” There you will find varieties of food and getting it at a discount, if you are lucky. Ramadhan, also allows for open house tradition for Iftar and for those who wants to save some pocket money, you can visit any mosque for free food for iftar. After that you can join the jama’ah prayer and terawih. Can you imagine that? Two in one at the same time, how cool is that?
To celebrate the beauty of the night during ramadhan, Malaysians light up “pelita”. You may wondering what is “Pelita”? Pelita is a kerosene lamp that we setup and decorate around the house. But nowadays we have the electronic version of pelita. No worries for being afraid  of getting burn because we do put pelita at high places.
You might also wondering on how foreigners celebrate Ramadhan in Malaysia, well actually it is pretty much the same as in their country, but only they using different terms from us. “I love to see how Malaysian celebrate this holy month because I love sweets and they selling lots of them at bazaar Ramadhan,” said Mohamed Hussen Zainal, a student from Lebanon.
In Malaysia, during the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, men wear Baju Melayu while women wear Baju Kurung. Basically there two types of baju Melayu for man, Teluk Belanga and Cekak Musang. In preparation for Eid al-Fitr, most Malaysian like to get a new pair of baju Melayu and baju Kurung, painting house with new colors and baking cookies. Ketupat, Lemang and Redang are the main dish for celebrating Eid al-Fitr in Malaysia.
Sabira Alizada, a student from Afghanistan majoring in Political Science shared her experience on how the Afgans celebrated Eid al-Fitr . Afghans celebrated Eid al-Fitr for three days, the first day is a celebration and seeking forgiveness. On second day, they will visit their relatives and friends. The third day ends with sitting on the long table filled with food called “kullija” served with green tea and dried fruit. They also give “eidi” which is money gaven to young children, In Malaysia, it is called as Duit Raya. Afghan people didn’t have specific dress for Eid al-Fitr, for them as long the clothing is new.
Meanwhile in Thailand, Nadia Maming majoring in Psychology said, that children wakes up early to visit every house in their neighborhood to collect “duit raya” before solat Eid al-Fitr. On Eid al Fitr, the men will wear “tub” with pronunciation “t-ub” basically it is jubah for men and for women they call jubah.
As Muslim, we all share the same religious culture and it is important for us to create new and beautiful memories every year while sharing the happiness together. I wish that all of you will have the sweetest moments of your life, shared with your family, friends and relatives. Salam from Malaysia, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri dan Maaf Zahir dan Batin.***
