How to Celebrate Hari Raya Puasa in Singapore Under the New Covid-19 Restrictions
This week, Singaporeans were met with the news that the country would be going back into Phase 2 and that more restrictions would be imposed till May 30 in an attempt to contain a recent outbreak of community Covid-19 cases.
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At the press conference, which was held on May 4, the multi-ministry task force announced that social gatherings would be reduced from groups of eight people to five from May 8. They also required more people to work from home, put new limits on religious services and closed all indoor gyms and fitness centres.
This may be disappointing for Singaporeans considering that how a number of celebrations such as Mother's Day, Hari Raya Puasa and Vesak Day are around the corner. In particular, Hari Raya Puasa is set to be a very different affair. The celebration is a highly-anticipated event for Muslims after a month of fasting. During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset to teach themselves how to discipline their body and mind and to restrain themselves from earthly pleasures. It is a very significant and holy time of the year.
The Hari Raya Standee Fiasco
A couple's wedding photo with their faces cut out was used as a standee for Hari Raya decorations at a Tiong Bahru housing estate. (Photo: Sarah Bagharib)
The People's Association (PA) has apologised after a wedding photo of a couple was used as a standee for Hari Raya decorations in Radin Mas Single Member Constituency (SMC) without the couple's permission.
Ms Sarah Bagharib, 30, said in an Instagram post on Friday (May 28) that she wrote a letter to the authorities after realising that her wedding photo had been made into a standee and was used as Hari Raya decor at a Tiong Bahru housing estate.
"A few days ago, I discovered much to my dismay the use of my and my husband’s wedding photograph at Tiong Bahru Orchid (Jalan Bukit Merah) in celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri this year," she wrote:
"Using a wedding photo to depict Malays/Singaporean Muslims celebrating Hari Raya is inappropriate. Using my wedding photo without my consent is unwarranted. Using my wedding photo as a caricature of Malay people is unacceptable."
Hari Raya Aidilfitri
Hari Raya Puasa is the celebration at the end of the Ramadan month of fasting. It is also known as Eid al Fitr or Hari Raya Aidilfitri
Hari Raya Puasa falls on the first day of Syawal, the tenth month of the Hijrah (Islamic) lunar calendar. Because it depends on the lunar calendar, the date varies each year. In Malay, Hari Raya means the ‘grand day of rejoicing’ and, in Singapore, it is a great Muslim festival that recognises the demonstration of self-restraint during Ramadan, and symbolises purification and renewal. It is also a time of forgiveness and children often visit their parents and ask for forgiveness for any offences over the previous year.
From the 20th day of Ramadan, oil lamps are lit in homes and mosques and burn until the end of the festival. For Hari Raya Puasa, people thoroughly clean and decorate their homes and put on new clothes. The men often wear Baju Melayu (a loose shirt with trousers) with kain samping (a short sarong), while the Baju Kurung is often worn by women. Families usually dress in the same colour to represent unity.
Early in the day on Hari Raya Puasa, Muslims go to the mosques for prayers. In the evening at the mosques, they recite the takbir. During the afternoon, families and close friends gather together for a thanksgiving feast where forgiveness and blessing is sought from one another. Duit raya, green envelopes containing gifts of money, are often given to children and the elderly then everyone enjoys the food specialties such as beef rendang, satay, sambal sotong, ketupat and lontong followed by lemang, cookies, cakes, biscuits, sweets and pineapple tarts. The customary greeting is ‘Selamat Hari Raya’, which means to wish a joyous day of celebration. Even so, the celebration of Hari Raya Puasa extends into three days and, for some, up to a month.
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