Everyone is busy preparing for the day of victory, Idulfitri which falls this weekend.
The sight of friends buying goodies and the aroma of cookies excite me.
One thing missing though is the sound of fire crackers.
When I was a kid, lighting fire crackers was the norm during this period. Kids in the village would challenge one another on who dare to have the biggest cracker explode on their palm. This could be dangerous as it may cause injury. But..that's the fun of it cos only this season that we were allowed to play with crackers.
Anyway, firecrackers were banned after the last factory producing it caught fire in 1970. In fact I was partly involved in the manufacturing of it. As my house was near to the factory, we used to collect a few stacks of bundled unfinished fire crackers. We would knock to close the bottom end of each cracker and be paid 10 cents for each stack of hundred crackers. In one day I can finish between 4 and 5 stacks in between school time just to earn some pocket money. These were than sent back to the factory and gun powder would be filled through the other end.
It was a blessing in disguised that the factory caught fire and fire crackers was banned since then. Otherwise, many of us would end up as bomb maker.
Today....no more sound of fire crackers blasting, no more 'rocket fireworks' ala the battlefield of Afghanistan....(hehehehe, just kidding lah) but the spirit still remain.
So...to one and all....."Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir Batin.
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