How it was 50 years ago

As we are just about a week before we celebrate Hari Raya Idilfitri....something made me reflect over as to how was it like preparing for the Hari Raya some 50 years ago.

I was only about 10 years old then....and it was an age that some kids fast; some learning how to fast and some others claim that they are still too young to fast. Our household was a big one; my late father, being a caring person, had brought into the household uncles and aunties to live with us. Family meals are never done without at least after 2 sittings. So my late father established a 'house rule' during Ramadhan: those who weren't fasting will not sit together with those who did at Iftar. That in a rather direct manner encouraged we kids to fast so that we could sit together to break fast where, like now, special food are prepared. I was already fasting at that age and therefore I always look forward to breaking fast with the adults.

Being raised in JB, where the announcements of Awal Ramadhan, the breaking of fast and Hari Raya were made by the firing of the canon, I was always thrilled by the booming sound of the canon for such announcements.

Round about now, the last 10 days of Ramadhan the kids joyfully play with sparklers (bunga api) practically every night. Some of the more adventurous among us play with 'meriam buluh', canons made from bamboos, the explosive material being carbides sprinkled with water and ignited with a match. The booming sound it gave always give us boys the thrills. A point to note: those days we do not hear of any incident where boys lose their fingers as we do hear these days.

The women back in the house were busy either baking 'kuih raya' or sewing clothes - baju mealy for boys and baju kurung for girls unlike now where these clothes were either sewn by tailors or seamstress; or are bought off the pegs.

Unlike now, we were not endowed with household stuff like the television, telephone or even refrigerators; so perishable food items are bought on a daily basis. So you can imagine how it was when Hari Raya was approaching. On the 29th day of Ramadhan, different teams would go to either the hill sites or the beach to sight the new moon of Syawal. Announcement of the sighting of the moon comes well after 9:00pm because the team that sights the new moon will have to return to the base in town for the announcement as there were no mobile phones then. And if the new moon was sighted; the canon would be fired to announce the sighting of the moon. Hari Raya is the next day.

Remember my saying we did not have the fridge and therefore no fresh food stuff would have been bought yet. Soon after the firing of the canon, my late grandmother would then get a few of us boys to accompany her to the wet market to buy the stuff to cook for the next morning, the Hari Raya feast.

Of course that was some 50 years ago.......today, our children have it so easy with the advent of technology, improved effluence of their parents and of course a much different state of economy that make preparation for the Hari Raya somewhat different.

But, I dare place a bet that as kids, we enjoyed the fun then much better than they do now.