Raya Money Expedition

Finally, after a month of abstaining from food and and other wickedly wicked things, Ramadhan gives way for Syawal to shine. And you know what that means! It's RAYAAAAAAAA!!! :D Following our yearly routine, we excitedly ate our breakfast after the Raya prayers. Atuk's house was full of warmth and laughter, as it is the time of the year where everyone would gather at the house. Although celebrating is on everyone's mind, kids have prioritized  something else during the festivities; Raya money.

 'Tis a tradition for working adults to give out Raya money to the children, whatever the amount is (The minimum being RM1.) The living room was brim full of cousins, ages ranging from 5 - 20++ (Yeah we teens can also be considered as money-hungry children in this case. XD) lining up to receive the once-a-year colorful packets from aunts and uncles situated in different parts of the room. Laughter ensued as sly kids attempted to double their profit, and many snickered when I tried (and failed) to extort some Sterling Pounds from my older cousin. (He's currently vacationing in Malaysia during semester break.)

Yet, I felt that I was missing out on something. My dear mother enlightened me in the car on our way to visit open houses. 'Did you know,' she started. 'That when I was a kid, we would walk around the neighbourhood, visiting the neighbours and collect Raya money?'

Lightbulb moment.

 When we returned to Atuk's house (No house was open, which was expected, since the first day of Raya is always spent with family.) I headed to the back of the house, to find all my cousins dying of boredom in the dim room, with only the TV screen as a light source. After berating them for lazing about, watching TV ('Now you know the true meaning of Raya.' one of them smirked.), the 'Raya Money Expedition' team was formed, which consisted of me, the eldest of the group (My peers declined, due to them being 'too mature' for this activity, or what I prefer to call as their 'lack of courage'.), 4 girls and 4 guys, ranging from 5 - 15. God, I felt like a black sheep.

 So for all the houses we visited (Only three.), 17-year-old me would be forced to holler at open doors by the girls (Who kept their distance from the boys, to avoid embarrassment of being with a guy who hollers at open doors) in hopes that someone would notice and invite us in. When someone does invite us in, the girls would appear right behind us. We would then proceed to eat the kuih (Small delicacies.) and stare around the house in an awkward atmosphere as the the people of the house sit unblinking and throw around occasional questions at us. At the second house, however, somebody turned a little clumsy (Hint: ME) and dropped a jar of bahulu.
 Don't blame me. How was I supposed to know the lid wasn't tight enough to be lifted? Thankfully, they were all too far at the back of the house to be within earshot.

 Though we only collected RM4 from the expedition, we had a fun time. I sure did. It was due to the fact that it was a first time for me, as when I was younger, Raya was celebrated at a less festal atmosphere in the UK, and I never thought of doing so the past 4 years I've been back in Malaysia, because of the city, and citizens' attitude towards random strangers who holler at open doors isn't that warming (Increase of crime rates, wariness towards people etc.) So yeah, I had a really fun time.

 Next me, I'll force the others to join me so I don't have to wallow in awkward embarrassment alone. (Insert evil laugh.) >:D