Ramadan 1427 Hijra'

Assalammu'alaykum wR. wBr.

It's all about tradition.
In only 4 days, the Ramadan month (the fasting month) will begin. Every year I'm always thankful for having able to participate in the most celebrated month in Islam.

Now, what is Ramadan?

The dictionary defined it as follows:
Ramadan
|ˈräməˌdän; ˈraməˌdan| |ˌˈrɑməˌˈdɑn| |ˌramədan| |ˈraməˌdan|
noun
the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset.
ORIGIN from Arabic ramaḍān, from ramaḍa ‘be hot.’ The lunar reckoning of the Muslim calendar brings the fast eleven days earlier each year, eventually causing Ramadan to occur in any season; originally it was supposed to be in one of the hot months

There is also an extensive explanation on Ramadan here (in English/Indonesian/Japanese)

The objective of Ramadan is for Muslims to cleanse themselves from the mortal sins or lusts or greed. By fasting you would experience the physical challenge of thirst or hunger, but beyond that you would also (ideally) achieve the state of serenity or to also be able to be more grateful and thankful with what you have. It's a little difficult for me to explain, but after sometime, you become more alert of everything that happens to your body, your surroundings and even things that are not even attached to you.
Everybody have their own problems, so more often than not, in this secular world - it's a lot easier to close your eyes or ears to sadness or unhappiness around you. In other words one can easily be less empathic than one usually are.
One of the benefit of Ramadan for myself, at least, is that I feel my empathy being sharpened as the days progress. And it is such a beautiful feeling to feel very serene and peaceful and loving towards others.

Now... every year when we're into the Ramadan month, I'm always a little sad for being far away from home. Back then, every year on the 25th day of Ramadan, we would pack up the car and drive the 8-10 hours ride to Yogyakarta, my parents' hometown. Mum came from a family of 6, whereas Dad came from a family of 5. We will all stay at our grandparent's places, rotating one family to another for about a week.
From mum's family alone I've got 12 cousins, whereas from Dad's family I've got 5 cousins - so if you combined them all, it's a hell big of a celebration. Everyday. There were always games to be played, stories to be exchanged, foods to be cooked, cemeteries to be visited, families to be hosted, families to be visited, foods to be tasted. It is so wonderful.
It is such a festive holidays. The equivalent of these would be Christmas in western countries or the New Year holidays in Japan.

For the whole month of Ramadan, too, there is always something to look forward to. Sure you fast during the day, but come evening, there is all the reason in the world to break your fast with your family, neighbors, former classmates, friends from whatever clubs you used to belong to, your distant families. Almost everyday for 30 days, you have some type of ongoing reunion with excellent food!

Having spent so many Ramadans in Tokyo, I gotta tell you, it can feel a little too lonely being far away from home. Thank goodness for cousin Yudo. We have created a Ramadan tradition of our own. We would try to meet at least once a week for a fast break together, and we will also try to hop mosques each week for the tarawih mass. One Saturday we'd go to the beautiful Turkish mosque in Yoyogi Uehara, another Saturday we'd go to yet another mosque in Hiroo and finally we'd go to the Indonesian School mosque.
After 30 days (29 days for some), there will come the celebrated Eid Al-Fitr day. This is the time where we will celebrate the end of Ramadan. Cousin Yudo and I always host an open house party at my place. We will cook all the traditional foods from our home, the chicken curry (opor ayam), the chicken liver chilli dish (sambel goreng ati), rice dumplings (ketupat), pickles (acar), vegetable curry (gulai sayur) and some traditional sweets. We will also do the phone round, calling our respective families, in Indonesia and Switzerland or wherever they may be at the moment.
Yes it is not the same with what we grew up with, but I think both Yudo and I have successfully established our own Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr tradition.

In retrospect, I don't think I'm that sad anymore to be spending Ramadan in Tokyo. It's all about tradition.

Lastly, Everyone, minal aidin wal faidzin. Mohon maaf lahir dan bathin. Maafkan saya ya bila ada salah2 kata dan perbuatan. Semoga ibadan puasa kita mabrur dan lancar. Amiin.

Wassalammu'alaykum wR. WBr.
Tari

Some of the typical Eid Al-Fitr foods. yummmmm!

The cooking team from Eid Al Fitr 1426 Hijra (Nov 2005). See you in a month!