[SURAYA] RAYA CELEBRATION

          Night before Aidilfitri, my family and I drove back to our beloved hometown in Negeri Sembilan. Along the journey, we sang Hari Raya songs happily to lighten our mood up. A few hours later, we arrived at grandparent’s house safely. I could see my grandparents and siblings were waiting for us along the stairs. I felt very excited at the thought of meeting my long-distance cousins and sharing our stories together. Later on, we helped each other making ketupat palas and rendang while the aunties cooked dishes at the back of the kitchen. As we were busy preparing for tomorrow’s food, the men decorated the house while the kids played firecrackers happily at the backyard. That night went fast.
      

          The next day had begun and it was the first Syawal. I woke up early and took a shower. The thought of celebrating Raya Aidifitri with my bigger family make me feel so excited. I help my aunties and my mom to prepare the Raya dishes. Later on, all of us started to dress up in our new Raya outfits. The theme for this year Raya outfit was dark purple and I could see everyone looked beautiful and gorgeous wearing kurung, kebaya and baju melayu. After that, all of us started asking for forgiveness among us. Then, we started our car to go to Masjid Seremban 2 to perform Solat Sunat Hari Raya. 
         
          After performing our prayer, we decided to visit our neighbours. I was amazed by the decorations of their houses. There were colourful lights hanged up here and there. Then, we went back to the grandparent’s house and continue with our Raya activities. We ate a lot as there were various type of dishes such as rendang, ketupat, lontong, lemang, serunding and kuih raya that we prepared last night. Like always, my favourite dish on Hari Raya must be the infamous Mak Teh’s Rendang Tok. After finished filling up our stomach, it was the time for us to receive Duit Raya from the elders. This year, all of us need to sing one Hari Raya song before getting our money. It was embarrassing for me as I was the first person to sing it. Although I was the eldest among the others, I enjoyed watching my little cousins laughing and smiling upon receiving their money. We sang, ate and shared our stories together. I could not forgot the memory that we created together and I could not wait for the next year Raya celebration!

Written by : Suraya