The month of fasting ended on Sunday, making Monday the biggest holiday of the year. Celebrations look much like those of our major holidays in the States. People travel home, usually to where ever their oldest relation lives, and the day is filled with a great deal of eating. On our block everyone, except us and a neighbor directly across from us, traveled outside the city. On Sunday night we joined our neighbors from across the street for parade. Cars and trucks are decorated with lights and signs, then drive through the city. Other cars and motorcycles join in by following the parade. We too joined in the motorcade, driving the route of the parade in a car and seeing one 'float' and hundreds of motorcycles.
Monday we joined our neighbors again, for a meal at the great-grandma's house. We ate traditional wrapped rice, hard boiled eggs, chicken, and fish. Then there were sweet drinks, usually some sort of soda, and lots of cookies to snack on.
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| With our neighbor's family. Neighbor girls in white and pink - center. Two of their aunts on left, grand parents back-center, and cousin on right. |
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| Erin with our neighbor, same age as Whitman. |
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| Our neighbor, far left, with her eldest daughter in pink, same age as Caedmon. |
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| Erin and the grandmother. |
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| The grandpa with two granddaughters. |
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| More family. |
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| After eating we just laid around, watching TV or chatting. |
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| Traditional cookies and peanuts. After eating with family, people spend the next couple of day or up to one week visiting friends and family. At every house you visit during this week you will be offered at least cookies nicely displayed in jars and a sweet drink. |
Another aspect of this holiday is new clothes and money. Kids and many adults too, look forward to getting at least one new outfit for the holiday. Kids also receive money, usually small new crisp bills, from friends and relatives. It is also the custom for kids to walk around the neighborhood for money as well. It reminded me of Halloween as kids I've never met before stopped by and said a phrase to get something in return, just trade the candy for money.
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| We took the opportunity to get pictures and names of all the kids in hopes of actually remembering their names. |
As one final activity this holiday, John and I learned how to make containers for one of the many varieties of wrapped rice. Young leaves from a coconut tree are woven into little square containers. They are then filled about half way full with rice and steamed for hours until the rice is cooked.
