Hi guys. Im back again with my special series leading up to Hari Raya next week and today's topic will be about which place do you prefer most to celebrate your first few days of Hari Raya at. No, Im not talking about your grandparent's house or something like that, but Im talking about whether you prefer to celebrate it at your kampung (if you have one) or right here in Singapore. Now, I know some of you have your own kampung back in Malaysia, I myself have one in Malacca, so if you are in the same position as me, Im sure that sometimes, your family would prefer to celebrate it at your kampung just to experience something different.
First of all, most of my family members in particular my uncles and aunties were an immigrant, including my mum. Now, I dont know what exactly happen which made them move to Singapore but I am certainly glad they did because if they had'nt made the decision to come here, I would probably be raised as a kampung boy. Nevertheless, my family here in Singapore still have some sort of connection with the people at my kampung, though Im not sure what it is nor am I interested to know. Therefore, this pose a problem for me because we can either celebrate our Hari Raya in Malacca or stay here in Singapore. If given a choice, I prefer to celebrate it here because most of my friends are here and it is much easier for me to visit one another. If I celebrate in Malacca, there is not much people that I know of, so it will be kind of boring to spend my Hari Raya with people who I know little about. Another reason that I prefer to celebrate in Singapore is because of the money as in the green packets. In the past, I used to get a lot but Im all grown-up now, so things have changed a little bit since. I still get the green packets, but not much. If I celebrate in Malacca, which I have done before, interestingly I dont get much. I dont know the reason why, but even if I get a lot of it, the bad thing about it is that if I convert the Malaysian ringgit into Singapore dollars, I only get about half of it.
The good thing about celebrating Hari Raya at the kampung I guess is that the celebration is much more livelier as compared to Singapore. Everyone would just be very excited and on the eve of Hari Raya, everyone will get together and help one another preparing for Hari Raya. And unlike Singapore, you are able to play the 'mercun', a type of firework that will launch up into the air when you start to light it up. It might sound dangerous but it is not at all. Ive tried it before and it was a great fun. Then there are the traditional food such as the ketupat and lemang. Of course you can find those food here as well, but most of it are ready made. Actually you can make the ketupat yourself if you want to, but Im not sure if I have seen anyone preparing the lemang here. The situation is different though in the kampungs, because it is very common to see the people preparing the lemang themselves, a process which is usually done out in the open. As you know, most of us live in HDB flats here in Singapore, so it is very difficult for us to do such a thing here. So there are things that you can find or do at the kampung that you cant do it here but the same can be said otherwise as well.
Having said all that, I think you should probably know that I very much prefer to celebrate it here because I was born here and most of the people I know live here. I would feel like I am missing something if I celebrate it at my kampung. Im just glad that my family are planning to celebrate this year's Raya here but Im not sure about you. Tell me your views people. Even if you dont have any kampung, just share me your thoughts. Till then, enjoy your weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment