My Raya Routine

Every family probably have their own raya routine. Before I was married to Mr.H, my routine was a total bliss of relaxing at home after sembahyang raya, a total opposite to Mr.H's family. There aren't many houses for me to go to since most of my relatives (almost all!) are in Kelantan. Since he felt that my routine was not much, he insisted that we follow his family's routine which is jam-packed with activities from early subuh till midnight. As a compromise, in return, we'll celebrate Raya Haji in Kelantan. We've been married for six years now and this 'arrangement' seems to work well for now.

On the first day, after sembahyang raya, there's the usual salam-salaman and family photo session.Then, we head to Mantin, 'ziarah kubur', and visit my father-in-law's siblings and etc. Late evening, we go to my parents house in Kajang.

On the second day, we head to Kuala Pilah. There's an 'abandoned' old-house there where all my mother-in-law's sibling gather every raya and stay for a night or two. Although it's well taken cared of, I still call it 'abandoned' coz no one stays there on usual days. It's a 'rumah pusaka'. I do like the 'traditional' gathering coz that's the only time where everyone really stays there and there is no rush, at night they have sembahyang berjemaah and tahlil, followed by barbecue and bunga api (which I do not approve Umairah playing but it's hard to say no without offending other people) but staying there for one night is more than enough for me. There are three things about this house that I find 'cumbersome'. 

Rumah Pusaka, Kuala Pilah

The BBQ place. It rained heavily that night so BBQ was postponed to the next morning.

First, there's no hot shower and to make it even worse, the water in the morning is ice-cold! Taking a bath the next morning is dreadful and I'd usually hear some of his family members laugh or chuckle when I yelp at the first 'jirusan'. "Bukan ke kampung kat Kelantan?" someone had asked me years ago. They most probably pictured that kampung di Kelantan was far more lacking in basic amenities. Hello, rumah nenek saya pun ada shower air panas tau walaupun tak de TV.

Second, the toilet doesn't have a flush. How on earth am I supposed to clear up a poo-poo. The first time I had to do so, Mr.H's sister (2 years older than me) gave me a step-by-step instruction from outside (the bathroom door). "Tak jadi pun...ada yang naik balik..." Aarrgh! How much more embarrassing could it be?

Third, there's no proper bedroom coz there's more than 25 people in the house from babies to nannies and you just have to find an 'acceptable' spot to sleep for the night. I've only complained  informed about this 3 distressing things to Mr.H and not to anyone else coz I don't want them to think that I'm acting like a diva. After the restless night, the next morning, on the third day, there's a 'ziarah kubur', salam-salaman and giving out duit raya before visiting other mother-in-law's relatives around the Kuala Pilah area.

Late afternoon, around 3 or 4 pm, we head to Serting, the FELDA area, to visit my father-in-law's other siblings. Yes, Mr.H comes from a very big family, unlike mine where my father has no siblings and my mom has only five (her included). It's so easy for Mr.H to remember all the names of the family and relatives from my side. The third day is usually the longest (we usually arrive home at midnight) and the most tiring.

Umairah and Irfan had a blast. They met and played with so many kids at the so many houses. They are so much more apt at socializing than their mom. I would not have agreed to this 'arrangement', and been doing it every single year since marriage, if I did not sort-of enjoyed it myself. :)