10 Things Malaysian Do For Hari Raya Celebration

After a month of fasting, all our Muslim friends are looking forward to celebrate the Hari Raya Aidilfitri. When we celebrate, we want to look our best and wear our finest. Do we go overboard and splurge our money on brand new items? With all the attractive, available sales and options, how do you prepare for your Hari Raya?

1. Look fashionable with brand-new traditional Baju Melayu and/or Baju Kurung/Kebaya.

Most Malay traditional outfit were tailored (‘tempah’) and it must be sent to the respective tailors. Nowadays, most all family have their own theme outfit.

2. Get accessories to complement your outfit

New Accessories such as brooch were bought to complete the outfit and make it stand out even more.

 

3. Decorate the house.

Almost everything around the house need to be changed - New Furniture. compound need to be cleaned; the grass must be mowed, the drains need to be freed from shrubs, small plants will be trimmed, the hedges too must be cut in horizontal and even the tembok and the pavement leading to the entrance of the house must be washed. Some houses will be painted new with sparkling colours. The window curtains would be replaced and the colour and design must match that of the cushion covers.

4. Keeping the tradition alive.

Hari Raya delicacies, baking cookies began first and it came in various forms and taste – Kuih Raya

5. Tonnes of Food! 

Get yourself prepared with all the scrumptious food - ketupat, rendang, lemang, lontong and many more.

 

6. Duit Raya

Adults will usually prepare duit raya in 'raya' packets to be given out to children. This is usually what the children are mostly excited about for Hari Raya.

7. Raya e-Greetings

Unlike the present scenario where technology reigns supreme with various forms of button pressing gadgets that can reach the end users within seconds, the 60s was a far cry. Sending Hari Rayagreeting cards was the norm and it must be sent at least two weeks before the big day. Some cards reached the owners few days after celebrating the Hari Raya. Now, Rayatext messages.

8. Listen to Raya Songs.

By now the Hari Raya songs were on the air every minute and most became classics until to-date.

 

9. Balik Kampung

Plan trip to Balik Kampung – start planning the journey on the road, buy flight ticket, bus ticket.

 

10. Get excited!

When everything else are prepared for Hari Raya, what else you need to do - Get Excited for the day to arrive!

Tallypress Team would like to wish you Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir dan Batin!

For further information log on website :
http://www.tallypress.com/fun/10-things-malaysian-do-for-hari-raya

The Significance of Hari Raya Food Towards Malay Community in Malaysia ☆

Published Date

22 August 2015, Vol.201:175–181, doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.08.166

AcE-Bs 2015 Tehran (6th Asian Conference on Environment-Behaviour Studies), Iran University of Science & Technology, Tehran, Iran, 20 - 22 February 2015

Open Access, Creative Commons license

Title 

The Significance of Hari Raya Food Towards Malay Community in Malaysia ☆

• Author 

• Mohd Shazali Md. Sharif ^a,,
• Mohd Salehuddin Mohd Zahari ^a
• Norazmir Md Nor ^b
• Rosmaliza Muhammad ^a

• aFaculty of Hotel & Tourism Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
• bFaculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Available online 15 September 2015.

Abstract

It is becoming a long tradition regardless generations for the Malay community to prepare and served traditional foods for Hari Raya celebration. Through observation and interview procedures, this paper describes the significance of traditional Hari Raya food from three Malay generation women's understanding on the process of Malay traditional Hari Raya food knowledge transfer. Charitable deeds, Social Bonding and Memories are significant elements in the knowledge transfer processes. Majorities of informers noted that Hari Raya without the traditional food is nothing or did not bring any significant for the celebration. In other words Hari Raya foods play significant roles in cheering or complete the atmosphere of the festive celebration.

Keywords

Malay ethnic

Malay generation

Malay traditional food

women

---

References

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• ☆
  Peer-review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.

• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author. Tel.: +6-013-249-9309; fax: +6-03-5543-5698.

For further information log on website :
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042815048144

Hari Raya Puasa ( Hari Raya Aidilfitri )

The Muslim community in Malaysia and all over the world celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri, or also known as Hari Raya Puasa, to conclude the Ramadan holy month of fasting. Hari Raya Aidilfitri is regarded as a merry celebration as it marks a person’s triumph and success on discipline and self-resistance which symbolizes refinement and rebirth. 

It is necessary for Muslims to fast during the month of Ramadan, where they have to maintain their self-resistance in satisfying their basic needs and urges between sunrise till sunset. They abstain from food and drinks, as well as from smoking and sexual relations. It is also important that they keep their minds pure and not harbor any ill thoughts or intentions during this holy month. 

The fasting doesn’t deter the celebrants from making preparations to welcome Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The excitement builds up way before the first day, where families start to shop for new clothes, delicacies and goodies and furnish their home with new furniture and decoration weeks. Brightly-colored lights, in the common hues of green, yellow and gold, can be seen adorning the mosques and the offices of government agencies. 

When the new moon is seen on the evening of the last day of Ramadan, the fasting period comes to an end. Such sightings are made by religious officials at various hilltops throughout the country and when the crescent moon is seen, the following day marks the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

On the morning of Hari Raya, the men perform prayers at the mosque while children ask for forgiveness from their parents. The little ones will also be given ‘duit raya’ or gifts of money in small green packets. While the first three days of Hari Raya are usually reserved for catching up with the family, many families hold open houses throughout the month where friends and neighbors of other races are invited to share conversation, laughter and a variety of cookies, candy and traditional delicacies.

Ketupat is one of the must-haves at Hari Raya. It is served together with beef rending (beef cooked with coconut milk and malay spices) together with satay (skewered grilled meat). Other delicious delicates are such as lemang (glutinous rice cooked in bamboo tubes), serunding (dry coconut fried with chilli) and curry chicken.

In Malaysia, the first two days are regarded as public holidays but most will take a week off for this celebration. Those working in the cities will return to their hometowns (balik kampung) and reunite with their parents, relatives and old friends in the celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, leaving the cities quiet and empty during the festive season (usually there are very good airline deals in the weeks/months before the Balik Kampung period). Although the cities start to be populated again at the end of the week, the celebration doesn’t end there as one month of Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations follow a month of fasting. People continue visiting each other’s homes and throwing open houses until the festivities approaches its end 30 days later. It isn’t often that festivities last for a month long, so take the opportunity to catch up with friends and family while indulging in the various delicacies!

For further information log on website :
http://www.wonderfulmalaysia.com/faq/hari-raya-puasa-hari-raya-aidilfitri.htm

The Cognitive Effects of Anxiety

A contemplative woman having negative thoughts on the sofa. Photo Credit Wavebreakmedia/iStock/Getty Images

Overview

Anxiety, an emotion that can be associated with fear and stress, can be a debilitating condition if not properly treated and if not taken seriously. When it comes to your cognitive behavior and thinking, anxiety can slowly deteriorate your thought processes and ability to make cognitive, rational decisions. Anxiety can cloud your thoughts and your mind, making you feel inadequate and fearful of what may happen. If you suffer from anxiety, you may also experience the cognitive effects of anxiety.

Fear

Rational or irrational, fear is a natural cognitive side effect of anxiety. If you suffer from anxiety, you may fear a wide variety of outside circumstances; fear that you aren't good enough, fear of something happening to your family, fear that you'll be abandoned. Fear is a natural emotion and is useful in fight-or-flight circumstances, Merck points out. But if you have anxiety-driven fear it disrupts your normal life and makes it hard for you to function.

Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughts can be helpful at times, to allow you to sense danger and understand how to protect yourself. But negative thoughts that keep you down, make you feel self-destructive or depressed can cause you to feel even more anxiety, perpetuating a cycle of low self-esteem and self-worth. HelpGuide.org notes that an effective treatment for anxiety is to identify the root of negative thoughts and banish them with positive thoughts and realistic affirmations.

Feelings of Inadequacy

Constant feelings of inadequacy plague your mind if you are a frequent anxiety sufferer. You may think you're not good enough at your job, a bad friend or parent. These feelings of inadequacy are then closely tied to your negative feelings and fear, making your anxiety a triple threat. When dealing with anxiety, you fear being judged by others and not measuring up, says the Social Anxiety Institute. This affirms your fears, makes you feel embarrassment and plunges you deeper into depression.

Memory

Your memory can be affected when dealing with anxiety, found a study performed by the School of Psychology at University of London and published in a 2008 issue of Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience. Subjects who had high instances of anxiety, when asked to repeat a certain pattern shown only moments before, could not always execute it correctly, while low-anxiety individuals had no problem in repeating the patterns. Anxiety can affect your performance at work and remembering small details.

www.livestrong.com

How to Relieve Anxiety While Driving

There are ways to avoid anxiety while driving. Photo Credit nubumbim/iStock/Getty Images

Many people experience anxiety while driving. This anxiety can be managed with certain relaxation techniques and thought changes. Anxiety is a normal response to stress that can become a debilitating disorder if it prevents you from performing required tasks, such as driving. A panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent periods of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms. Effective treatments for panic attacks and anxiety disorders are available.

Step 1

Research and learn about panic and anxiety. Understanding your symptoms can help you better learn to cope with them.

Step 2

Observe your feelings and accept them, recommends OvercomeFearOfDriving.org. The website even suggest purposely worsening your feelings in order to accept and gain control over them. Emotional symptoms of anxiety include feeling apprehension or dread, experiencing trouble concentrating, feeling tense or jumpy, watching for signs of danger and feeling like your mind's gone blank, according to HelpGuide.org. Physical symptoms can include headaches, sweating, a racing heart or nausea.

Step 3

Perform a relaxation technique while driving. OvercomingFearOfDriving.org recommends relaxing your facial muscles or slightly rolling your head from side to side. The website also recommends squeezing the wheel tightly and then relaxing your hands; perform this exercise a couple of times.

Step 4

Control your breathing. Hyperventilation can be caused by panic attacks. Deep breathing can relieve the symptoms of hyperventilation, including lightheadedness and tightness of the chest.

Step 5

Make time to incorporate relaxation techniques, such as yoga or meditation, into your daily routine. These practices can help relieve general anxiety.

Step 6

Change the way you talk to yourself, suggests the University of Texas Counseling & Mental Health Center. Remind yourself that your fears are unfounded because there is only a small likelihood that you will wreck, and that your feelings are temporary. Remember that a panic attack cannot cause you to faint, stop breathing or lose control of yourself.

Step 7

Seek professional help. A therapist can help you delve into the root cause of your anxiety and develop coping strategies. Medication can help treat the symptoms of anxiety, although many should not be used during driving. Ask your health care provider for recommendations.

Warnings

• Certain stress management techniques, such as distraction, should not be used during driving. Remain alert. Do not allow relaxation techniques to steal your focus from the road. Pull over if you have a panic attack while driving.

www.livestrong.com