My Hari Raya Memories

What was Hari Raya celebrations like when I was kid? I had fond memories of those years. What I enjoyed most was helping my mother baking cookies. Yes, my mother baked her own Hari Raya cookies when she was younger. As usual, she would also bake two butter cakes for the occasion. My help involved beating the eggs in a large bowl using a spring-coil like beater. Then, I would beat the dough too. For a young boy that sure took a lot of effort. That stopped when my sister bought her the motorized baking “assistant” which could be used for “beating” eggs and to mix dough.

If she needed coconut milk (santan), I would be the champion to scrape the coconut flesh using the old style coconut scraper. You know, the type that you had to sit on it with the sharp scraper protruding forward. In the later years, we would just buy the scraped coconut from nearby grocery store in Asamkumbang (Kedai Ah Leng).

 On the baking part, I was told to stay away from the hot gas oven. My help here would be to store the cookies in the tins. Usually, a few burnt ones would be given to me as a reward.

Approaching Hari Raya, my elder siblings would be home to spend a few days of the fast before the big day. My sister would “shanghai-ed” me to help with other chores – clean the brass wares with brasso. Sometimes, I would be asked to help with changing of the curtains.

One task I dislike most was when I had to prepare the kerosene lamps to be put along the fence and around the house. I would have to collect all of them the next morning.  Because we lived in house with large compound, there were so many lamps that I had to handle.  There must have been 80 to 100 of those lamps. These lamps were a mixed of ready made ones bought from the shops or home-made from old Brands Essence of Chicken bottles. It was a messy job after mending the lamps and pouring of kerosene into them.

Come Hari Raya, the most enjoyable moment was getting “duit raya” from my parents and elder siblings. I also enjoyed the visits to my other relatives who lived at Pokok Asam, Kampong Pinang (Kamunting), Matang, Bagan Serai and Titi Serong, near Parit Buntar.

Ahh! Sweet memories ….