Thursday, October 23, 2008

Aidilfitri

Children are all smiles and kisses on Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the day that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Although they might not show it, they are secretly tabulating just how much duit raya (festive money) they can wrestle out of the elders for being extra courteous and charming.
Giving small tokens of money to children during Aidilfitri is a custom of showing affection, something that most children expect from adults during Raya.
The tradition is very much alive, and a testament to this are the lines of people at the banks who need to exchange bundles of currency for crisp new notes in denominations of RM1, RM5, RM10, RM50 and even RM100 as Hari Raya approaches. While the adults wait at the banks, the kids are already making grand plans on how to spend their Raya loot.

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