Idul Fitri

Idul Fitri is a time to celebrate after a month of fasting and refraining from other worldly pleasures from dawn to dusk. It is also a time to gather with family, ask for forgiveness and start anew. For Indonesians, this year's Idul Fitri was somber. The Oct. 12 Bali blasts cast a pall over the celebrations, with people refraining from setting off firecrackers, a past tradition that never failed to add a touch of festivity but also claim lives. It was amid this solemn atmosphere -- subdued further by the Makassar blast -- that Muslims performed the Idul Fitri prayer, paid visits to ask for and offer forgiveness to others, spent time with family members and gave alms to the poor.