Thursday, September 13, 2007

The Fasting Month ...

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my Muslim readers a very Happy Fasting Month. And as a sign of respect and solidarity with all Muslim friends, I'm gonna fast right along with you guys :D (well, I'll try to anyway ... LOL!). Just so you guys know I'm serious, I haven't taken breakfast yet and I'm not having lunch :D

During this holy month of Ramadhan my Muslim friends throughout the country would fast from early morning till late evening, round dinner time. They would diligently wake up around (urmmm, correct me if I'm wrong, k?) 4am for the start of the fast and would go all day till late evening without food or water. This is something which I utmost respect as even in my religion, there are times when I'm supposed to fast (Good Friday, etc) and that's only for one day and I have trouble just sticking to it, yet these guys fast almost the entire day and they do it on a daily basis at that! Now that takes some doing.

The wife and me simply love this time of the year, especially during the fasting month cos there will be loads of goodies available to everyone during the breaking of the fast in the evenings. I think everyone here, irrespective of race or religion happily joins in during this time.

There would be countless Ramadhan bazaars sprouting up all over selling great tasting traditional Malay goodies. I'm lucky cos near my place they have this huge Ramadhan bazaar set up and it's like food paradise. You can practically start smelling the food they're whipping up as early as 2-3pm!

And trust me, the food spread that's available at these bazaars are so diverse and tasty, that everytime the wife and me go there, we wanna buy everything on hand ... LOL! She's already 'booked' me for this evening to go get some goodies from the bazaar cos she ain't cooking dinner tonight she says ... LOL! Actually I'm seriously looking forward to it myself. In fact I think I'm gonna be putting on a little added weight by the time the festival is over .... groannn ... looks like I'm gonna have to step up the miles on my running.

These are the times when I find that it's great to be living here in Malaysia. (I'll tell you about the times when I don't find it great to be living here one fine day). We're a multi racial country and we get the chance to celebrate at least 4 festivals a year, which is the Chinese New Year (for the Chinese, duh, Nick!), Hari Raya (for the Muslims), Deepavali (for the Indians) and my all time favourite Christmas (for the Christians). Of cos there are many more festivals (like the Harvest festival, Hari Gawai, etc), but these four are basically the more prominent ones. And the good thing about all these festivals are that everyone joins in the festivities together. There are loads of open houses during this time and it really is a great feeling getting the chance to visit your friends and neighbours.

My neighbour two doors away from me, who celebrates Hari Raya would every year without fail send a nice tray of cookies and stuff to my house on the first day of Hari Raya and would always invite us for their open house, which so far I have not gone (my mom goes though) but this year I'm definitely going to make it a point to go (if I'm invited again that is ... LOL!). Remember, I'm being more neighbourly nowadays, well, except with my Neanderthal neighbour that is, him I HATE! :D

So, once again, Happy Fasting guys :)

36 comments:

  1. Yay! I am the first to comment! Great post! I don't know if I could go an entire day without food or water! That would probably not work for me! I drink a TON of water! Very cool of you though! I have a deep respect for those who participate! Great post! I hope you have a great rest of the week! P.S.-You are winning the scrabble competition! Wish I had a prize to give you!

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  2. Hello Nick, it's me, feeling very tired and thirsty he he he... Anyway, u will see me waking up later than usual for the next month coz of the fasting and all, LOL! So ur still fasting today or break your fast oredi by now?

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  3. Barrett, yup, you're the first commenter for today :) I drink loads of water too, especially on days that I run, but today, I'm really go try and fast :D And to tell you the truth, I'm bloody hungry right now ... LOL!

    I'm sure someone is gonna have a name that is longer and before soon, I'm gonna be at the bottom of the scrabble pile ... :D

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  4. Marzie, I'll bet you're feeling tired and thirsty, what with this being the first day and all, hang in there, only 30 more days to go ... LOL!

    I'm happy to say I still haven't broken my fast yet and it looks like I'll go all the way. Can't wait to get to that bazaar later though ... hehehe ...

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  5. I haven't heard of Hari Raya yet but it might be as interesting as Christmas, is it not? I hope I could visit Malaysia next year. One particular airline in my country offers cheap airfares really. Can't wait for the time to come....

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  6. nick, it's so thoughful of you to fast along with our muslim friends.. :)

    oh, i love pasar ramadhan too! superbly enticing with yummylicious foodies!! i love the meehoon soup, kebab, roti jala, asam laksa, lemang.. with sugar cane water.. oh, what a meal!! *slurp*

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  7. I would love the cultural diversity and even more that you all share in each other's holidays. That is the true sense of community. I have, in the past, done the month of fasting. It gets easier as you move into the spiritual aspects of it. I liked the discipline aspect of focusing on something other than satisfying my body. Now though, you would likely hear my stomach grumbling clear down the hallway. :-)

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  8. This time of the month, my kitchen is free from grease... but the purse is asking for mercy!

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  9. Lordmanilastone, it's just as interesting as Christmas and celebrated in its own way.

    Yeah, do drop our country. I'm sure you'll enjoy the diversity we have here :)

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  10. I have always admired the dedication of the Muslim people - and to your Muslim readers I extend my best wishes for a blessed Ramadhan!
    And to you Nick, I send you my best wishes for sucess with your fasting - its a lovely idea and I hope you will find it rewarding - and not just in the breaking of the fast Tehehehe

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  11. Jean, we're all friends after all sp why not fast along with them, ya ...:D

    I've never heard of anyone who doesn't like the Ramadhan bazaar ... LOL! I'm lucky enough that it's so near my place and what more, in Subang they have at least 3-4 of these bazaars I'm told ... LOL!

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  12. Josie, the cultural diversity in this country is what makes the festivities all that more joyous as everyone irrespective of race or religion joins in :)

    Wow, you fasted a whole month, huh? I just don't have that kind of discipline. A day or two maybe, a month, I'd probably have withdrawal symptoms ... LOL!

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  13. sweetiepie, I think this time of month, everyones kitchen is gonna be spotless, what with all the food offered out there ... LOL!

    Yes, I'm sure my wallets gonna be begging for mercy like yours ... hehehe ... but who can resist those bazaars out there. And after all it's only once a year, rite?

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  14. Lavender, I managed to go a whole day yesterday without eating (don't know about today but I sure am gonna try ... LOL!)

    I have to agree with you about the dedication they have during this month of Ramadhan. It's really something else ...

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  15. Nick, its nice to have neighbours of different race & celebrating ones festive occasion with each other bringing goodies & reminding one another of the good racial harmony. My neighbours here are mostly chinese. My mil house do have malays & they will make cookies & malay dishes for my mil :)

    Janice Ng

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  16. Janice, it's always nice celebrating festivals with the neighbours, especially when they send you cookies ... LOL!

    I'm looking forward to the actual Hari Raya day and go for their open house to eat some rendang and ketupat ... hehehe ...

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  17. Still going strong today? Which bazaar do u frequent? I used to love the one in TTDI but their standard of food and cleanliness has deteriorated to da max, so am looking out for new places. :):):)

    Mariuca

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  18. No la Marzie, was going strong this morning but then got hungry and ate a sandwich for lunch ... hehehe ... there's always tomorrow, I guess. I don't know how you do it for 30 whole days! Man, that has to take some major faith and discipline, ya?

    No specific one, yesterday was the one opposite my house. Wifey has gone to get some stuff already so today I'm not going, tomorrow might try the one in Kelana Jaya.

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  19. Isn't diversity great!! I love learning about different cultures..Good luck with the fast. I wouls probably pass out..LOL

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  20. Diamond, the fast isn't working, I actually had a sandwich for lunch ... LOL! Guess I'm not cut out for fasting after all ... :D

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  21. Wow, everywhere I go.. people are posting about fasting and Gerai Ramadhan!!!! :D

    Cannot tahan. I HAVE to go buy some food from there too. Forget diet! LOL!

    PS: I hope your neighbor still gonna invite you this year. :P

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  22. Is it bad to say this post made me hungry?

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  23. Hi Nick,

    I am certain that your Muslim readers/friends will appreciate this post.

    It shows how much you appreciate and respect the value of different cultures, traditions, religions in a diversity of multi racial society.

    These may well breed both harmony and peace.

    Keep up the great work here, Nick. Till then..Have a great weekend ahead, Nick =)

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  24. Cindy, the signs are on the wall, go out there and get some Ramadhan goodies already ... LOL! And forget about dieting for this month ... :D

    Yes, I'm hoping the neighbor will invite me cos I really can't wait to eat some rendang and ketupats ... hehehe ...

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  25. Anonymous Boxer, don't worry, you've got company. I got hungry just writing the post ... LOL!

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  26. Nafa, I didn't manage to fast the whole of yesterday, couldn't tahan la ... LOL! But I did make it for the first day though :)

    I have the utmost respect for the diversity and values for every culture, not only in Malaysia. I just wish a lot more people felt that way.

    Happy Ramadhan and a wonderful weekend to you too :)

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  27. At least you tried Nick. Now I have to go and get something to eat because all that talk about food just made me ravenously hungry.

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  28. Gypsy, you do that ... LOL! Yeah, I tried, it wasn't really difficult cos I normally don't take lunch anyway, but yesterday I was really hungry and just had to grab a bite of that sandwich ... LOL! Happy weekend to you.

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  29. I want to go for the Ramadan pasar malam for food.. I want to eat Ayam percik..

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  30. That was a good effort Nick. I think about four hours would do it for me!

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  31. Kee Yit, I'll be leaving to the bazaar soon to get that ayam percik ... LOL!

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  32. Menopauseprincess, four hours is pretty good. Well, just so you know, I'll be heading to the bazaar in a few minutes to pig out ... LOL!

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  33. Seriously, the best thing about living in a multi-racial country is the food! I'll definitely miss my roti prata, char kuay teow, nasi lemak etc if I've to be away from Singapore for looong periods of time.

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  34. Hey Lis, now you're making me hungry!!! Yes, that is one of the best things living a multi racial country isn't it?

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  35. I couldnt fast for 24 hours... good luck to you and happy fasting to the rest.

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  36. Meleah, neither can I. I'm given up even trying ... LOL!

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