Hari Raya Cards

I love buying and sending Hari Raya cards to friends and relatives . About two weeks before the fasting month of Ramadan , I would be on the prowl at bookshops for these cards . This is the beginning of my raya ritual .

As the Ramadan month progressed , I would be receiving cards from friends too . That makes me feel good . Strange ... after all these years I am still excited over it . Such a sentimental value for each card and I know that I am in someone's thoughts . I must say I am proud to parade my collection of cards .

Some of the Raya cards I received this year .
At top left is the card from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad .

However my kids are not that enthusiastic and going goo goo ga ga over this buying and sending of Raya cards . Being the Generation Y kids ...... techno savvy is the rule of the day and that means there are faster and cheaper ways of sending messages . I have not seen them buying birthday cards or other festive cards . Not that they never receive any from cousins and aunties on their birthdays or on other certain occasions . Ya ...they do appreciate the thoughts but it ends only there .

Mummy dearest would collect and stick the cards on the fridge wall . Then these would be stored away till mummy finds the time to put in their scrap book . I would remind them to say their thank you which they do . They would either call ( every human being seems to have a cell phone now ) or they would fire away the SMSes on their cell phone .Or emailing or using Facebook to convey their gratefulness......the fastest and most convenient way . The faster alternative for them . No testing of their patience in queuing up when buying stamps at the post office , no sealing up of the envelopes ...in fact signed , sealed , posted and delivered is omitted when sending festive greetings this way .

Card from Prime Minister of M'sia .

Ya ...it can't be denied that this modern way of sending and receiving wishes for festive greetings serve the purpose too . After all this is the era of e cards , the cyber version . Does that make the Raya cards obsolete ?

Hmmmmm.....I am from another generation ... a real old timer if you may say so . Each year I still see cards being sold in stores and bookshops . A good sign that this common tradition is still around .Apart from that dear hubby is given free raya cards which I made used of . This is still the best way of conveying greetings as each card is written with a few words - whch means the world to the recipient . Then it is signed with a real signature ...not some stamped signature . Then sealed .in a real to goodness envelope , complete wth a stamp and posted with the post office stamp of approval . Not many is willing to do this as it is a tiring work .

I do enjoy receiving raya SMSes greetings from friends . Only I can't keep it for long . What a shame as I have to delete it as other SMSes are coming in as my inbox is getting full and it could not receive any new ones.

Balik Kampong - On The Way Home

This the house that Bapak built . Thanks to Sis Lili....she had the house repaired and gave it a new coat of paint . Bapak was not too keen initially but relented when a part of the ceiling on the first floor gave way .



So for the next two months , the house was in complete chaos and mess . I can imagine the hard work they put in , the stress , the daily attitude of the workers , plus my father's constant ' short fuse ' with everybody . A pain to one's state of mind both emotionally and physically . I went thru all that too when I had my house renovated recently ...only Bapak was not around to be the unofficial supervisor .

My Bapak...

Oh ya ....of all the colors ...why that particular color for the house ? According to Sis Lili , Bapak wanted the house to be in that color . Hmmmm....kind of look nice in this pix.

My Children at Penang Airport ...lost in their own world .

Balik kampong means going to the house that father built . Yes, the excitement to be home is there , on the other hand this trip left each one of us to be on our toes ..........precautions taken in light of this virus H1N1. ( Horlick one , Nescafe one ...new terms as coined in the kampung ) . I insisted my children to use the face masks at the airport and in the plane too . Of course I had to use it as well .

Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Surprised that the place was not that decorated for the Hari Raya celebrations .

At KLIA ...we browsed around while waiting for our next flight to Miri . My son Uzair joined us here ; his campus is about 10 km away from the airport . His friend helped to sent him ; a RM50 given for the minyak kereta because nothing is free and taken for granted . Now the family is complete .

I expected to see familiar faces on the way home .....there were none . Quite a disappointment .

Balik Kampong - Why ?

8 Syawal 1430H.......its not too late to wish a " Selamat Hari Raya " to all my readers ...whoever and wherever they may be . Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making a pit stop at this blog .


Alhamdullillah , as in past years I joined the usual exodus of the tens and thousands of the Malaysian population to " balik kampong " for the celebration . Only that for the past two years ...my balik kampong is not of jumping into my car and driving the odd 190 kilometers home from Bintulu to Miri . Now its hopping into airplanes and crossing the South China Sea from the peninsula to Borneo Island . I would be home in about 9 hours flat taking into account the time I set off for Penang Airport .

Nephews Sopian Bujang and Rozaimi Elwi
at my Aunt's house in Kuala Baram . I love this pix .

Its a Malaysian culture this Balik kampong thing . People would be leaving the city ; with roads leading out of the city to their respective hometowns . And its not only for Hari Raya ; the usual scenario is repeated for Chinese New Year , Deepavali and Gawai . The Malays are not the only group doing this ' Balik Kampong ' ....it goes out to the other races too ; an opportunity for one to get out of the city and spent the long holidays elsewhere .


Home Sweet Home . Nothing beats the vibrants of being home on this joyous occasion ...of meeting my brothers and their famlies and my sisters plus my dear father too . The feeling of being surrounded by family members , relatives and friends is one of pure happiness ; to meet them personally ...and not to talk over the phone or " SMSed " them or e- mail them . I am still in Malaysia and there is no reason not to be home .

3rd cousins ; son Amir ( left ) and Nasri Affendi
First Time Encounter

Father looked forward for us to be home ....and my children and myself looked forward to be there too . Busy me would be introducing my children to relatives and cousins ...to the sighs and exasperation from them .

Son Uzair and 2nd cousin Sheetel .
Both can't forget the incident on one particular Hari Raya ;
Sheetel fell into the backyard's drain when they were playing chase .

Well that didn't stop this old mother hen from forever fluttering and chuckling away ...anything to create memories for my children ...as such rare occsions of meeting and crossing paths with second and third cousins are indeed rare .

That's me ; at about 13 or 14 yrs old . Pix taken at our old house
146B Jalan Ungu , Miri .

I just need to be close to home for the Raya celebrations and its not difficult to balik kampong to meet love ones and friends . I had a wonderful and joyous Raya ...I hope everything goes well for you too .