What Hari Raya Puasa Is
Hari Raya Puasa is the Malay name for the festival that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. It is also widely known in Malaysia as Hari Raya Aidilfitri, corresponding to Eid al-Fitr in other parts of the Muslim world. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, the date shifts each year relative to the Gregorian calendar, and the official dates are confirmed by religious authorities based on the sighting of the new moon.
In Malaysia, Hari Raya Puasa is a major public holiday. The celebration is not confined to a single day: it is customary for the festivities to continue over a period of about a month, with the first few days being the most intensively observed. The "second day" of the holiday is therefore not a separate festival with its own name, but rather the continuation of the same celebration, when many of the customs of the first day are repeated or extended.
Origins and Place in Malaysian Life
Hari Raya Puasa came to Malaysia with the arrival and spread of Islam in the region, and it has been observed in the Malay world for centuries. Over time it absorbed local Malay cultural practices, so that the religious festival and Malay communal traditions became closely intertwined. Today it is celebrated by Muslims across the country and is also a time of visiting and feasting that extends beyond the Muslim community, as neighbours, friends, and colleagues of other faiths are often welcomed into homes.
The holiday is officially gazetted at the federal level and observed in every state, though the exact number of public holidays and the naming of the days can vary slightly between states.
Customs and Traditions
The second day of Hari Raya continues the patterns established on the first day. Common practices include:
- Open house (rumah terbuka): Homes are opened to relatives, neighbours, and visitors, often across religious and ethnic lines. Guests are welcomed, offered food and drink, and often given a small token or packet on departure.
- Visiting and reunions: Families travel to see relatives, sometimes over several days, and the second day is frequently used for visiting extended family or friends who could not be seen on the first day.
- Forgiveness and reconciliation: It is customary to seek and offer forgiveness, and to mend strained relationships, as part of the spirit of the festival.
- New clothes: Wearing new, often traditional, clothing is a long-standing practice, with many people choosing Malay attire such as baju kurung, baju kebaya, or baju Melayu.
- Duit raya: Children and younger relatives are commonly given small amounts of money in decorated packets, a practice similar to ang pow at Chinese New Year.
- Greetings: The traditional greeting is "Selamat Hari Raya," often followed by "Maaf Zahir dan Batin," which asks forgiveness for physical and emotional wrongs.
Food and Drink
Food is central to the celebration, and the second day typically sees households continuing to serve the dishes prepared for the festival. Well-known Hari Raya foods in Malaysia include:
- Ketupat: Rice cooked inside woven palm-leaf pouches, a signature dish of the season.
- Lemang: Glutinous rice cooked in bamboo tubes over a fire, often eaten with rendang.
- Rendang: A slow-cooked spiced meat dish, commonly beef or chicken.
- Lontong and sayur lodeh: Rice cakes served with a vegetable coconut-milk stew.
- Kuih raya: A wide range of small cakes and cookies, many of them baked or bought specifically for the season, such as pineapple tarts, semperit, and bahulu.
- Serunding: Spiced, shredded meat floss, often eaten with ketupat or lemang.
These are typically served alongside drinks such as teh tarik, sirap bandung, and various local fruit juices. Hospitality is a strong expectation, and visitors are usually urged to eat.
Religious and Civic Observances
The religious heart of Hari Raya is the special Eid prayer, performed in congregation at mosques and in larger open spaces on the morning of the first day. On the second day, many Muslims continue to attend mosque, visit graves of deceased relatives to recite prayers, and give charity. Zakat fitrah, a form of obligatory almsgiving, is required of those able to give and is normally paid before the Eid prayer, though charitable giving continues through the festive period.
Civically, Hari Raya Puasa is a national public holiday. Government offices, schools, and most businesses are closed or operate on reduced hours. In some years, the government has declared additional days of holiday around the festival, and the second day is often included in the official holiday period. National leaders traditionally hold open houses and issue festive greetings, and the festival is marked in public life through decorations, media programming, and community events.
Public Festivities
Beyond the home, the second day of Hari Raya is marked by:
- Open houses hosted by organisations and public figures: Ministries, companies, and community groups often hold open houses that draw large crowds.
- Decorations and lighting: Homes, shops, and public spaces are decorated with ketupat motifs, pelita (oil lamps), and colourful lights, particularly in the evenings.
- Cultural performances and television specials: Raya songs, dramas, and variety programmes are broadcast throughout the season.
- Night markets and bazaars: Ramadan bazaars, which operate during the fasting month, wind down, but festive shopping and food stalls remain active in many areas.
Regional Variations
Malaysia's states and communities observe Hari Raya with local differences, though the core practices are shared:
- Peninsular Malaysia: The celebration is broadly similar across states, with strong emphasis on open houses and family reunions. In states such as Kelantan and Terengganu, traditional Malay arts and foods are especially prominent.
- Sabah and Sarawak: On Borneo, Hari Raya is celebrated alongside the region's other major festivals, and open houses often reflect a mix of Malay, indigenous, and Chinese influences. In Sarawak, the festival period overlaps with the wider Gawai season in some years, and cross-community visiting is common.
- Urban versus rural areas: In cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru, large public open houses and commercial events are common, while in rural areas the focus is more on village-level visiting and communal meals.
- State holidays: The number of gazetted Raya holidays can differ by state, so the "second day" may be a working day in some states and a holiday in others.
Practical Notes for Visitors
Because the exact dates of Hari Raya Puasa depend on the lunar calendar and official moon-sighting announcements, the second day of the holiday is best confirmed close to the time of travel. Visitors should expect heavy traffic on major highways during the balik kampung (return to hometown) period, and many businesses to be closed or short-staffed. Being invited to an open house is a privilege; guests typically remove their shoes, greet hosts with the traditional salam, and may bring a small gift.