Idul Fitri

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.