This post is also available in: Indonesia
Eid Mubarak!
Muslims all over the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr which fell on May 13th (Thursday). Today we will share how Muslims in Japan celebrate Eid al-Fitr.
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Eid Prayer
Most places didn’t hold Eid pray but some did with thorough action in the infection prevention measurements, such as shalat with social distance, body temperature check before entering the mosque, and held in a limited number of people.
Body temperature checks before entering the mosque. Photo credit to As-Salam Mosque Okachimachi.
Pray with social distance. Photo credit to As-Salam Mosque Okachimachi.
Listening the khutbah. Photo credit to As-Salam Mosque Okachimachi.
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Food
When it comes to Eid, most Muslims have Eid delight that they used to have in the home country. In Indonesia and Malaysia, it is common to have Eid cookies such as kue nastar (pineapple tarts), kue bangkit (tapioca coconut cookies), or kue kastangel (Dutch-Indonesian cheese stick), with Eid delights, such as ketupat (a rice cake packed inside a diamond-shaped container of woven palm leaf pouch), lontong (compressed rice cake in the form of a cylinder wrapped inside a banana leaf), lemang (glutinous rice, coconut milk, and salt cooked in a hollowed bamboo tube coated with banana leaves), and rendang (a rich and tender coconut beef stew which is explosively flavorful, which you can’t miss on Eid!), and more.
We interviewed some Muslims that they prepare some cookies or cakes and some traditional food they usually have in Eid, then enjoy the meals only with the family.
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Indonesian specialties on Eid “opor ayam” (chicken cooked in coconut milk). Credit to Swastika Kusumawati
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Online Family Gathering
Even though we couldn’t have a gathering like we used to have every year on Eid, Muslims in Japan tried to make Eid more enliven than last year even in the pandemic.
Online meetings and gatherings have been common in this new normal. On Eid, Muslims in Japan wear their best clothes and did online meetings or video calls with their family in the home country.
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Even we couldn’t meet face to face, but Muslims in Japan still bring the Eid vibes and celebrate Eid as festive as they can.
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Back to Work
Eid fell on Thursday which is still business day, so Muslim residents especially those who are living alone here in Japan are usually back to work after having Eid meals and have online family gatherings. There is no holiday for Eid in Japan (except if you take a paid leave for celebrating Eid) so that people are doing everything just like normal.
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