The meaning of Hari Raya Puasa is the “Day of Celebration,” and this religious festival is very important. This marks the end of Ramadan and a month of fasting. Idul Fitri is Indonesia’s version of Eid al-Fitr, and it is a major holiday in Indonesia. Idul Fitri means “becoming holy again” in Arabic.
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 24 May 2020 | Sunday | Hari Raya Idul Fitri 2020 |
| 25 May 2020 | Monday | Hari Raya Idul Fitri 2020 |
| 13 May 2021 | Thursday | Hari Raya Idul Fitri 2021 |
| 2 May 2022 | Monday | Hari Raya Idul Fitri 2022 |
| 22 Apr 2023 | Saturday | Hari Raya Idul Fitri 2023 |
| 10 Apr 2024 | Wednesday | Hari Raya Idul Fitri 2024 |
This holiday is for two days, but the government formally declares a “collective leave” of a couple of days before or after. It is normal for the majority of Indonesians, especially the Muslims who live in major cities, to travel at long distances to their villages and hometowns and get together with family on holidays close to the end of Ramadan.
Muslims go to mosques early in the morning and they visit graves. When evening comes, the Takbir will be recited in mosques. The oil lamps are lighted starting from the 20th day of Ramadan and it continues to bring light until the festival ends.
For a lot of Muslims, Eil al-Fitr is a way for them to show how thankful they are to Allah for helping and strengthening them throughout Ramadan when it comes to self-control. They commonly use the phrase “Eid Mubarak” to greet each other on this day, which means “blessed festival” in Arabic. The response is “Khair Mubarak”, which is to wish good to the person who gave the greeting.
The first celebrated Eid al-Fitr in 624 CE, and it was led by Prophet Muhammad together with is companions after the victory they had in the battle of Jang-e-Bada. This was a turning point when Muhammad struggled against his components among the Quraish in Mecca during Islam’s early days.
Another name they use for Eid al-Fitr is called the ‘Feast of the Lesser Bairam’. Bairam is ‘holiday’ in Turkish. They use the word lesser for such a grand holiday because ‘Greater Bairam’ is Eid al-Adha, which is the other huge Islamic festival which is considered as the holier one.
‘Sawm’ is about fasting in the month of Ramadan and it is a pillar in Islam. Muslims have a belief that during Ramadan, the text written in the Qur’an was shown to Prophet Muhammad.
This holiday is celebrated by saying prayers that are called “Salat Al Eid” in Arabic. The Eid call to prayers is not audible. The Muslims will go to the mosques or open spaces to offer a prayer with two units, which is called “Rakat”. A sermon will come after the prayers, where the imam will ask Allah to forgive, have mercy, and bring peace to everyone in the world.
This Indonesia Public holiday is marked by the communal prayers said in mosques or big public squares, being charitable, asking those you have wronged to forgive you, and eating together after the fasting month is over. On the Hari Raya Idul Fitri morning or afternoon, the Indonesia Muslims have a large feast to celebrate with their family. The feasts are made of different dishes which were carefully prepared by family members.
Other main elements of Eid celebrations are to give money to the poor, giving Eid greetings and feasting with all families.
Aside from the usual celebrations, the Mudik has been a practice for a long time in Indonesia. It does not matter how far the hometown is, people always anticipate going home during this time. They believe the word ‘mudik’ is from the Javanese word ‘mulih’ and ‘dilik’ which means to go home for a moment. This is a tradition which has been practised since the Majapahit Kingdom during 1293 – 1527 AD. At this time, people go home to clean the graves of their ancestors.
Mudik was popularized in the 1970s when the capital of Indonesia became popular. Since that time, mudik is not only about cleaning up the graves of their ancestors but also gathering their family together. Even the Muslims who do not have a hometown, they still consider mudik to be the best time to be with their family and relatives, especially those who want to get away from their usual busy lives.
There is the Eid al-Fitr bonus which is called the Tunjangan Hari Raya (THR) or holiday bonus. The THR regulation is written officially in the law of Indonesia. They normally give this bonus from 14 to 7 days before the start of the holiday. They provide the bonus to complement the extra expenses of what people spend during the Eid celebration. Everyone receives this bonus, not only the Muslims.
