My Kind of Thanksgiving

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Westerns have Thanksgiving, Valentine, and Christmas at different days. We Easterns have all of those in one single occasion: Idul Fitri, and it's just around the corner!! I couldn't be more excited than I am right now. It is practically the only occasion I can and have to go back home. You bet it right if you conclude the last time I went home was in last year's Idul Fitri. Every 'perantau' goes home to celebrate Idul Fitri every year. Perantau is a Minang term referring to someone who goes out of the comfort of their hometown to further place to study or make a living. I am also a Perantau, always have been since I was not even 10 years old. 

To me, Idul Fitri is way bigger compared to those three occasions I mentioned (though I don't celebrate any of them at all). This is the day we truly apologize for what we did, the day we forgive everyone despite of what they've done. This is the day we love each other again, at the same time love ourselves enough to forgive and start new. This is the day we celebrate all the good things in life, thank Allah and everything He has been giving us unconditionally through our loved people. There could be no better day than Idul Fitri. 

As for you who wonder what we Muslims do during the day, I'm here pleased to explain.

Idul Fitri usually occurs in two days. The first day is the praying day. Idul Fitri pray. We do it in Dhuha time, after the sun rises and leaves the horizon, around 7-8 a.m. After we woke up, we'll have breakfast, then shower, then put our Idul Fitri clothes on, and go to Mesjid. It's supposed to be in Jama'ah so you can't do Idul Fitri pray alone no matter how introverted you are ;) After praying, you go back to your house waiting for people to come over. Or... You can go around visiting people in the first day and spend the second day staying home. The visit includes activities started from shaking hands asking for forgiveness, then chit chat, eating (meal or snack), giving THR (Idul Fitri allowance) to the little ones, and leave after waving goodbye till they disappear at the end of the street (it's not necessarily true, but that's what my family do to every guest). The second day goes exactly like the first one but without Idul Fitri pray. 

As for my hometown, a little city called Pintu Padang (no, you can't find in on the map), located in Pasaman Barat towards Lubuk Sikaping region, we conduct Ikan Larangan every year. Ikan Larangan (Forbidden Fish) is an event where ALL people, despite their gender and age, gather around the biggest river in the village. Male villagers go there fishing, female ones cooking what they got. There will be buckets of fish and rice... You will think it will feed thousands of people where in fact there's no more than 300 people in my village. I guess we're all big eaters. :-p

That's it? Well, for me it is. I'm not very familiar with many people there for my whole-life "Merantau" reason (and I'm pretty quiet because I don't talk the language that well). Nevertheless, I enjoy a little city as much as I do a tiny village, plus it's my hometown. Alhamdulillah we now have a house big enough to accommodate three families (my cousins) and a huge backyard which is almost like a forest, and where we love to barbecued at. It's going to be like summer camp. I'm so looking forward to 28th July! XD