Hari Raya is here again. Interestingly, in the days before Raya, I saw people going all out buying Raya things, candy boxes, fancy cookie containers, serving platters, table cloths, the works. While Covid-19 is still raging elsewhere in the world, it looks like the people of Brunei are not making any compromise in their Raya celebration this year. The Hari Raya 2021 celebration guideline issued by MoH, while urging the public to remain alert, seems to be giving an all systems go as well. Para 2 of it says that Hari Raya could be celebrated by only organising “private events” meaning only inviting family members and close friends. Well…isn’t that how Raya has always been, for family and friends. I don’t recall anyone organising Raya open house inviting strangers or making a Raya goodwill visit to a stranger’s home. The guideline also says that handshakes and hugs are “not encouraged” and “as much as possible avoid” physical contact when greeting. Yep good luck with that. I saw people, ladies especially, not just hugging, but doing the cheek bumpings with total disregard to social distancing. 

For me, with or without the pandemic, I have long lost the excitement for Raya. The only excitement that I got left for Raya these days is for the long Raya public holidays, the long break from work. In 2012, when His Majesty announced about the additional day making the Raya holidays from 2 to 3 working days, that was the only spike in my Raya excitement chart which had been on a flatline for quite sometime. Perhaps the excitement faded with adulthood. But, I would say, the biggest reason is that Raya is just not the same anymore. Im talking about the Raya that I used to know and enjoy, back in the 80s and 90s, when life was simple. Many, if not all, of the things that we fondly associate with Raya celebration have now completely disappeared. 

80s Raya Living Room

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