Ramadhan came and went. Alhamdulillah I didn't miss a day of fasting this year. And no, I'm not expecting as my mom has been conveniently telling everyone that I might be. Sorry mom. Soon.. soon.
So Eid in Dubai was as expected. Boring. Apparently Arabs celebrate Eid a day earlier from Malaysia. I texted mom on Monday night asking if Malaysia had announced when they will be celebrating Hari Raya. Mom said on Wednesday, the 1st of October. So that would mean UAE would be celebrating it on Tuesday the 30th of September. Cha and I were with Johnny at that time, on our way to the airport to send John for his flight back to Malaysia (btw, John's real name is Jamil. I don't know why we call him Johnny. It's been like that since our days in UiTM). He was one of the last of our friends on their way back to celebrate Eid in Malaysia.
Anyways, we switched on the radio coz that's how Cha said he found out when Eid was last year. He'd only realised that it was Eid when people started calling in and wishing 'Eid Mubarak' on the radio! God. That's quite pathetic. John was also telling us a story of how last year, a friend of his actually called the police to ask when was Eid! Kesian. I have no idea if they have official announcements on tv like they do in Malaysia. Even if they did, it would be in Arab, so I wouldn't have understood it anyway.
So the DJ on channel 4 UAE was saying Eid might be tomorrow - 30th Sept. But he has not had official confirmation yet. He said that Abu Dhabi had announced Eid on the 30th. But the DJ said he thinks Eid will be on the 1st. What?! Abu Dhabi and Dubai are located in the same country. Surely Eid will be on the same day?! But then, this is Dubai. Where anything and everything is possible. This is a real nail biting situation. Is it the 30th or the 1st? The DJ says he will announce it on the radio once he has official confirmation. So we waited with bated breath till he announced it about an hour later, that Eid was to be on the 30th Sept. Alhamdulillah.
In Malaysia on the eve of Eid, we would have been back in Air Hitam or Johor Bharu, my parents' hometown. The house would be buzzing with kids running around playing fireworks, aunties and girl cousins in the kitchen preparing a big feast for the morning of Eid. Some would be ironing their baju kurung and baju melayu. The uncles and other guys would be sitting around drinking coffee and chatting about politics or sports. It was the time of the year. My favourite time of the year.
This year, I spent the eve of Eid with my husband, our friend Bak and one of his friends from the office having coffee, hot chocolate and shisha. Very Hari Raya. Cha and I didn't go back home for Raya this year due to his annual leaves running low and also we're financially unstable at the mo' coz we've spent all our money on our wedding. That's alright, we're looking forward for Eid in Malaysia next year. I'll start counting down the days...
