Posted by
wetbenang
at
Thursday, October 19, 2006
SELAMAT BERCUTI. MOHON MAAF DARIPADA SEMUA
Well, Deepavali and the Eid are less than a week away. A lot of people are finalising their travel and holiday plans. A lot more are still spending lots and lots of money in preparation.
Personally, I always feel good about the season. Spiritually I feel somewhat elated and blessed. Emotionally, I look very much forward to reuniting with family and relatives, to catching up with them, to see which cousin is doing what and to meeting new additions to the clan.
Everybody seems to have new stories to tell. Everybody but me, that is. The only thing they would want to know about me is when am I settling down. Yup, that one million-ringgit question. Last year, when a relative asked, “Balik sorang je?” I retorted “Yes, and that’s the answer for next year, the year after and the year after that.” Apart from that, Hari Raya is always a joyful occasion, which is more than worth the long drive home.
Another thing that I look forward to is celebrating the season, kampung-style, where an open house literally means an open house. Your doors remain open to a steady stream of visitors – whether known and not so known to you. My siblings and I would normally draw a schedule for us to go visiting so that at least one person would remain home at all times to receive visitors.
Back in Kuala Lumpur, or in any other big city, the concept of open house takes on a totally different meaning and dimension. Attending one is more like a chore than a pleasure, if you ask me. You have to have an invitation, and some hosts even allot a certain time window for you to come to avoid having too many guests at any one time. A wise move, this, as we all know what would happen when there are too many guests. We have witnessed, heard or read tales of certain corporate and public open house disasters where people behaved in total disregard for basic human courtesy, let alone the spirit of the season.
Which is why I would normally decline open house invitations, unless the host and the guests are fairly known to me, and the events are fairly small scale. I have long made it a point to as much as possible avoid situations where I have to stand in line for food. It would be quite tolerable and not so degrading if the guests were well behaved. But more often than not, they would have no shame and act like they have been starving for months.
Anyway, I would like to wish for a really Happy Deepavali and truly Selamat Hari Raya. I pray that this year's festivities would be the most enjoyable, memorable, wonderful occasions for everyone and his or her loved ones.
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wet
guess it's not too late to wish you Selamat Hari Raya.. Just like you, this year I was bombarded with question like "bila nak kawin" etc.. I guess that's too unpleasant to hear.. but again, they are just too busy body.. right?
Xis said...
1:26 PM
Selamat Hari Raya to you, too. And thank you. This year's raya was a bit subdued for me. It's the age thing, I guess. Which works to my advantage. Now that I'm in my 40s, not many people ask me the "K" question anymore....
wetbenang said...
10:43 AM