Celebrating Eid as a Newlywed

For my family, Eid is usually a quiet occasion. We’d eat a large breakfast comprising of rice cakes, lontong gravy and beef rendang before settling in front of the TV for the rest of the day. This has been going on for as long as I could remember.

There was, however, a phase during my childhood when I spent some time in rural Johore. I played firecrackers at night with my cousins and visited relatives with them the next morning. The highlight of all that visiting would be the packets of gift money I’d receive. There was the year when we traveled all the way to Kedah to spend time with my late grandpa’s family. He took me to feed the chickens, baked ketupats with the sweetest beef floss (we call them serunding) to eat with and introduced me to many distant cousins who all spoke in their Northerner accents. When I was a child schooling in London, I tagged along with my mom’s friends and rode in tubes across the city to attend Malaysian 'open houses' during fall. Again, the packets never stopped coming.

Eventually, the fun, fiesta-like ritual of Eid stopped and as a (very small) family, we mellowed down when the day comes. Instead of returning to Johore or Kedah, we’d just spend Eid in the city. And just so you know, KL is the most deserted place on earth during Eid or Christmas or Lunar New Year. You can literally sleep on the road without getting run on. Whenever somebody asks if I was celebrating, my answer is “not really.” And I always mean that.

This year is different, though.

As a newlywed, I spent the occasion with my N’s family and boy, it was a good experience. We celebrated Eid concurrently with my sister-in-law’s engagement ceremony so the joy doubled. N comes from a big family with their own tradition of celebrating the holiday. Growing up, N is used to having his entire family preparing food together the night before (weaving ketupat leaves and such), gathering for photographs in the morning and visiting relatives in the fishermen settlement of Kuala Selangor. I find their close-knitness amazing, which in return, inspired me to create my own Eid tradition with N in the near future.

For now, I’m settling with the basics: 

One dress fits all

I bought myself a brand new turquoise dress for the celebration. Its skirt is made out of long gold sarong and it glittered in the sun. I love the idea of having a traditional top that works even with jeans. I feel that that the two-in-one concept keeps my frugal heart at bay. 

Bake something, anything (or settle with lesser bought cookies)

Even though I didn’t bake anything this year, I vow to bake some cookies next year to save cost. My particular favorite is the classic pineapple tarts. If I were to finally bake them, they’d be something to be proud of. 

Cheer up the kids with gift money

Since both N and I have bid goodbye to our singlehood, our days of receiving money gifts are also officially over. Gone are those little envelopes from our pockets! Nonetheless, we’ll continue giving duit raya to our younger siblings, cousins, nephews and nieces no matter how tights our finances can be. After all, Eid about celebrating in charity. The gift money are often given in green packets but this year, we found this awesome design instead from our recent IKEA trip. We felt very adult when our little loved ones queued for their turn to receive their gift and exchange warm hugs. 

Play with sparklers

And last but not least, sparklers. I remember these from my childhood when they came in dark blue packaging with a feisty black cat’s face. When I asked about them, the boys who sold me these sparklers said that they’ve substituted the black cat with a more adorable panda. The reason remained to be a somewhat mystery. To have these sparklers is to remind myself of those good old days of playing with them with my cousins underneath the coconut trees in the midst of darkness. And who says they’re only for children? Having them spark again gave me a sense of hopefulness about this new life I’m starting.

I wish the same to you too, whoever you are reading this. May you have a wonderful holiday ahead. Salaam!