Idul Fitri: Keeping decorations fun and festive

Idul Fitri: Keeping decorations fun and festive

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hotels and restaurants may try their darndest to get people out
to sample their wares on the special days of Idul Fitri, but
tradition dies hard.

For most Muslims, there is nothing more joyful than
celebrating the end of the fasting month in the home, feasting on
the same delicious savory dishes and snacks remembered from
childhood amid the warmth of family and friends.

Some aspects of the tradition can do with a reworking,
particularly in creating a welcoming decor and attractive table
setting.

It's a challenge, especially with only a week to the holiday,
but that does not mean we should play it "safe" by sticking to
the usual ornaments, like the plaited coconut leave casing used
to make ketupat (boiled rice cakes) but often hung as a seasonal
decoration.

Still, ketupat and other typical Idul Fitri items and mainstay
colors -- the tikar (woven) motif and hues of white, yellow and
green -- can be a source of inspiration in trying something new
to decorate the interior and the dining table with a fresh,
money-saving theme.

Inspired by those simple woven coconut leaves used to wrap
ketupat, a florist from www.bunga-bunga.com, Maria "Sandra"
Alexandra, teamed up with event consultant Ojjie Nanik to create
a stylish yet practical table setting and home decoration that
goes well with traditional Indonesian interior decor.

The use of simple flowers and other decorative elements, like
jasmine, tuberose, coconut leaves, branches and rice stalks, are
fully in keeping with the Indonesian theme -- and they smell
good, too.

"Various materials, even old and simple ones, can be used
again in a creative way as interesting accessories or accents for
the interior -- and they save us from spending too much money,"
said Ojjie.

For this year's theme, Purity of the Heart, they focused on
purification and starting anew after the month-long fasting
month, using white flowers and freshly cut leaves.

"For the flowers, we focus on popular, widely available ones
like sedap malam (tuberose), white orchid, chrysanthemum,
jasmine, cucurma and bunga kapas (cotton flower)," said Sandra.

Living and dining rooms are decorated with branches, wild
grasses and rice stalks for a kampong ambience.

Traditional items and games, like a congklak (a wooden board
with indentations) and a woven-leaf mat, bedeck the low coffee
table.

"The indented parts of the congklak are filled with flowers
and different kinds of traditional sweet treats, arranged one
after another, and guests can enjoy them while chatting and
waiting for others to arrive," Ojjie said.

The centerpiece of the dining table is a beautiful flower
arrangement, consisting of several groups of flowers with
individual woven place mats for each guest.

A woven envelope filled with padi, branches and an orchid
decorates the back of each dining chair.

Once the traditional Idul Fitri meals have been served and
eaten, then comes desserts, including the must-have treat dates,
served on the dining table in the form of a small tree.

"Guests can just pick them straight from the tree," Ojjie
said.

Small notebooks, designed with a matching woven motif, are
provided for each guest at the dining table. After enjoying the
meal, guests are invited to jot down the habits they would like
to get rid of as part of their Idul Fitri resolutions. This part
of the gathering is specially created to involve all the guests
and provide warmth and excitement.

For houses with a classic-style interior, florist manager at
Shangri-La Jakarta Budi Susanto highlights the typical Idul Fitri
colors of white, yellow and green for an elegant, formal theme to
celebrate the special day with family or with office colleagues
and associates.

The dining table is decorated with a low round centerpiece,
consisting of golden shower flowers, cassablanca lilies and fern
with small ketupat for accents.

Ideally, Budi said, the centerpiece should be kept low or at
medium height in order not to block the view of people at the
table.

"It (the centerpiece) is usually removed when the house owner
serves elaborate meals but there is no need to do it when a set
menu is served one after another," he said.

For a special touch, each of the napkins is adorned with a
sprig of golden shower and a ketupat.

"When various dishes are served together on a buffet table, a
tall flower arrangement is recommended to create a balance with
the food in its surroundings," said Budi, a veteran of both
national and international flower design competitions.

Similar flower arrangements are also placed on the table in
the seating area on a cabinet, while a taller one enlivens a
corner of the room.

"Flower arrangements and home decoration elements should
compliment the whole interior and I personally recommend keeping
them simple," he said.