Raya : Past vs Present

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri..

It may be a bit late but the wishes are still as warm as ever. They say that as Ramadhan is observe for a month, the celebration of the Eid is also extended for a month. As usual, the Eid brings back old memories...let's see what's the difference between the Eid of the past and the Eid of present.

Past : In the old days, a month before the actual sighting of the new moon (to determine the Eid), there were the rush to buy the bus and train tickets to 'Balik Kampung' or going back to your home town. There were news almost everyday of extra bus services will be provided and an advise not to buy the tickets from 'unknown sources'. The exodus always meant traffic jams.

Now : Today, there's a slight different to the scenario. While there are still the rush to go back to the hometown, there are many more who decided to remain in the cities during the Eid. Might be because most of the parents are now city people or they have decided to skip the traffic jam, spend the 1st and 2nd day raya in the city and only go back to their hometown after the rush has lessened.

Past : All the kuih and cookies were homemade. Neighbors competing with each other to see whoever makes the best tasting and delicate looking cookies. You would feel proud to see your cakes became a favorite among the visitors. Families gathered a few days before the Eid to stir the 'dodol', cook 'lemang' or make the 'ketupat'.

Now : With the busy working schedule, it has become a norm to just buy the raya cookies off the shelves. You would be lucky if you can bake one or 2 cookies on your own. Those who advertises their home made cookies, can certainly add extra income during the fasting month.

Past : All raya greeting cards must be posted 1 week before the Eid. Anything later than that will be sent to the recipient after the raya and will be stamp postage will be charged the same as normal letters (instead of the special raya card rate). And how nice it is to be surprised with such cute cards, which you can afterwards hang as deco on the walls.

Now : There's the raya e-card and last minute sms getting the phone lines choked up and messages getting queued. Some of the messages were even recycled messaged, cut and pasted.. :) and forwarded to others. You might even get your own greetings resent to your own self. Boomerang effect. :)

Those were the days. One more note to be put in archive.