Hari Raya Puasa / Hari Raya Aid Il Fitrj falls on 20 September 2009. Due to 20 September 2009 is a Sunday, the holiday is substituted to 21 September 2009 Holiday.

Holiday date is based on Islamic Calendar, every thus year the date is different. Due to shorter year (with approximately 355 days) in Islamic calendar, generally every year the holiday will falls on earlier date than the year before.

This is slightly different from Chinese calendar. Eventhough both are using lunar (moon) movement for calculation, in Chinese lunar calendar there are leap years, where one of the month will be calculated twice. Example, this year 2009, in Chinese calendar the fifth month happen twice.

Hari Raya is the most important religious festival for Muslims around the world. It celebrates the end of Ramadan (or fasting month), signifying the triumph over evil.

After prayer at the mosque, people will pay visit to each other, especially more for young people to visit the elder. The common greeting is “Selamat Hari Raya” (Happy Eid) and “Mohon Maaf Zahir Batin” (I seek your forgiveness). Many also greet “Min Al Aidin Wa Al Faizin”. This last greeting, originated from Arabic words, was commonly thought to mean the same as “Mohon Maaf Zahir Batin”, but actually it has different meaning. Loosely translated, it means “People who return and people who are triumphant”.

In this region, Hari Raya Puasa is a public holiday celebrated in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Interesting places around the world

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