Eid al Fitr in New York City

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

Alhamdulillah, the Victory Day is here.
Eid Mubarak to all my dearest Moslem family and friends, wherever you are.
The end of the holy month of Ramadhan is here and as we all have strived to be a much better person during the holy month, it's time to celebrate the day when we purify our heart and souls, while sharing happiness and friendship with family and friends.
May Allah SWT bestow us all with continued blessings and may the spirit of compassion, good deeds and solidarity stay in our heart.

This year will be our last Lebaran or Eid-al Fitr for us in NYC.
NYC has been a wonderful host for all peoples from different walks of life, including religions and races. Such a wonderful melting pot that embraces everyone regardless of their background.
I salute NYC for that.

So this year, as always, we have a solemn Eid-al Fitr celebration.

In the morning, Wwe had our Eid-al Fitr sholat or the prayer at the Indonesian Moslem Community Mosque in Astoria, NYC. 

It took us around 15 minutes to get to the Mosque.
Usually, our biggest problem is finding the parking spot. But alhamdulillah, this morning, we got the parking just a block away from the Mosque. Some local Americans even moving their cars and wishing us a good Eid celebration. Masya Allah...that's the beauty of embracing diversity and tolerance we have here in NYC!

Good thing the kids are so accustomed to waking up early, so that we can get ready for our morning prayer quite speedily.

Leaving our house, heading to the mosque

 As for the costume department, I was lucky that I went to Hengki Kawilarang's trunk show in New York City, days before Lebaran day. I managed to snatch his beautiful collection, featuring Ikat patterns in purple and pink, my favorite colors! I paired it with pale pink hijab sent by my mom and purple long dress I got from Indonesia. While Obi was happily wearing her Zara white dress, Oshkosh B'gosh cardigan and pants, paired with tenun Lampung syal-turn-into-headdress.

Like mommy like Obie :)

As we arrived at the Mosque, we waited until 9 AM to start our sholat.
We met many friends and family and it was like a big, happy reunion.
Although I miss my big family back home in Indonesia, but we find even more lovely families here in NYC. Alhamdulillah.

Finishing the prayer and the khotbah, or the sermont, which again underline the spirit of solidarity and the need to continue contributing positively to our community, we are done with our morning prayer and we continue with halal bihalal, our tradition of asking forgiveness to one another and share the happiness in this victorious day.

And we have all those special menu for Eid-al Fitr!

Check those one out for more..

grilled halal ribs, kerupuk, salad, lontong plus sate (unseen)

for appetizers and desserts...

And here's a short video of my family's celebration of Eid-al Fitr 

in New York City

How's your Eid-al Fitr?

I bet it's as special as ours!

Share your story with us here..

And for sure, I will be back for more story, photos and video for our Joint Open House between Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia to the UN, my office, in this auspicious day.

Eid Mubarak!