Malaysian Culture: A letter to pen-pal

99 Jalan Setia,
Taman Setia,
86200 Simpang Rengam,
Johor,
Malaysia.

6 October 2009

Dear Jeannette,
I am glad that your brother came home for Christmas. Your mum must have been delighted to see him after for so many years. Travel must have transformed him both physically and spiritually. I, myself have seen changes on my eldest brother when he retuned from his studies in Germany seven years ago. He has matured and more responsible. Sometimes I miss the bubbly side of him which seems to have disappeared since he has to take charge almost five thousands workers working under him. He is getting married soon. I really hope that he will resume his cheerfulness once he has children.
So, your brother’s presence must have been the best Christmas gift ever for you and your mum. Here in my country, I celebrate” Hari Raya” or better known among the European Muslims as Eidul Fitr. Unlike your Christmas, Hari Raya is not celebrated on the same date every year because the calculation of the date is based on the Islamic lunar calendar. It falls on the first of Syawal.
However, we are obliged to fast for a month in Ramadhan. Ramadhan is the ninth month in the calendar. Daily fasts begin at dawn and ends with sunset. Special nightly prayers called, Taraweeh prayers are held. The entire Quran is recited in these prayers in Mosques all around the world. This month provides an opportunity for Muslims to get closer to God. This is a month when a Muslim should try to speak no evil, hear no evil, do no evil and look to Allah with fear and hope.
What I like about fasting month is the abundance of food. My mum usually cooks about three special dishes but since our neighbours enjoy extending their generosity, our table is very quickly filled up. Fortunately, there are eight of us in the house. Otherwise, all the lovely delicacies may go to waste. My mum then shows gratitude by giving them some of her cooking. So almost everyone in the village is savouring a variety kinds of food cooked at different houses.
When the last week of Ramadhan approaches, every member of my family is busy preparing for the day of festival. My father who never favours shopping hands the task to his financial adviser, my mum. She is very smart. She gives each of us some amount of money, with a list of some dos and don’ts, and drives us to the mall to buy two pairs of new outfits and other things we need. She then leaves us to do her own shopping spree and comes back two hours later.
Unlike most of the kampong folks, my mum never bakes her own cake or biscuits for Hari Raya. As she is a teacher who devotes 18 hours a day on schoolwork, she refuses to stay coop in the kitchen after work. She prefers to join the Taraweeh prayer and recite the Quran, making sure that all of us tag behind her.
My task is the most interesting one. I am assigned to light up oil lamps along the street in front of my house. It is a beautiful sight to behold at night. My sisters Rina and Lia are expected to fill up the beautiful glass jars with tarts, brownies, ginger biscuits, chocolates and sweets. Meanwhile my brothers must mow the lawn, hang new curtains, wipe the window panes, wash my parents’ cars and rearrange the furniture in the house. All these however are done under my mum’s strict supervision. My dad is not exempted. He sits on an armchair at the verandah of our house weaving the coconut leave into “ketupat” cases which is filled with rice on the eve of Hari Raya. My mum usually boils them for four hours in a pot full of plain water. The “ketupat” is ready to be eaten in the following morning.
On Hari Raya, my mum is the first to wake up. My mum begins preparing special meat and vegetable dishes to be eaten with “ketupat”. The next person to wake up is my father, who then summons us to leave the bed, to bathe and to get ready. My dad, then, can be seen helping my mum in the kitchen. They are a great team.
Once ready, the six of us ask for forgiveness from our parents and then we head to grand mosque on foot since it is only twenty metres away from our house to perform a special morning prayer. Men, women and children attend the prayer. We give out a special charity, known as Zakatul-fitr prior to the prayer. After that, we go home and enjoy the wonderful meals my mum prepares. We spend the rest of the day visiting relatives and friends. I love this visiting part as I receive some pocket money and I can eat almost everything served by the hosts.
Well, Jeannette, I am sure you will enjoy our festival as much as you enjoy Christmas. Hari Raya is a day of joy, a day to forgive and forget and a day to bring a family, relatives and neighbours closer. See you in the next letter. Please write as soon as you can. Take care. Bye.



Your pen-pal,

Azeem

P/s ADDRESS,DATE AND YOUR SIGNATURE SHOULD BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE.

An Informal Letter ;A letter to pen-pal

Instruction:
Fill in the blanks with suitable words listed below.


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played wonderful lovely who fun because
thick chat best dawn indoor joyous

Dear Sharopova,

How are you? I was very happy when I received your letter this morning. I had so much 1) ______ reading about how you celebrate Christmas in Moscow. In Malaysia, I celebrate “Hari Raya” which falls on the first of Syawal, the tenth month of the Muslim Calendar.

Hari Raya is celebrated after fasting for a month in Ramadhan, which is the ninth month of the Muslim Calendar. During Ramadhan, as a Muslim, I have to 2) myself from eating, drinking and from committing any ill-doings from 3) __________ until sunset. It is hoped after Ramadhan, the Muslims will continue to do good and avoid any wrong-doings. So, the Hari Raya marks the Muslims’ success in fasting for a whole month.

Of course, Hari Raya is a 4) ___________ occasion for Muslims from all walks of life. On this 5) ______________ day, everyone puts on their 6)___________ clothes and go to the mosque to perform obligatory Hari Raya prayer. Usually each family brings a plate of traditional cakes and cookies to be shared together after the prayer. Before we leave the mosque, we ask for forgiveness from each other. Then, we go home to have a 7) ___________ meal with our family. We often have “ketupat”, which is actually rice cooked in a case made of woven coconut leave. This ketupat is eaten with “rendang”, meat cooked in 8)____________ spicy gravy and peanut sauce. We can only savour these dishes on Hari Raya.

Every year we never miss to visit our grandparents 9) _____________ are staying in a village located about 40 kilometres away from our house. My cousins often arrive at my grandparents’ house a day earlier 10) _________they live far away in Kuala Lumpur. Can you guess what usually happen when cousins get together? Well, we will have a long 11) _____________ about everything under the sky. When we were younger, we used to play fireworks. However since playing fireworks have been 12) _____________ in our country, we choose to stay13) _____________ watching special Hari Raya programmes on television.

Last year, since all my cousins were able to be present at our grandparents’ place, we 14)_____________to have a football match competing against the local team. As expected, we lost the game as most of us had not 15) ___________ football for quite some times. Yet, we had 16) ___________ ourselves tremendously. Hari Raya is a day where everybody has a chance to meet. It is a day to tie the bond. Most importantly, it is a day where old wounds are 17) _______________ and love to grow between family members, between friends and neighbours.

Ramadhan is coming soon. I am looking forward to it because it is a month full of God’s blessings. I hope you have enjoyed reading about Hari Raya. It would be 18) _______________ to have you here to celebrate the day. Bye.

Your pen-pal,

Ilhan