The Beauty of Homecoming for Eid al-Fitr Filled with Religious Significance and Deep Meaning
Studying away from home provides life experience. Distance from one’s hometown teaches the invaluable lesson that gathering with parents and siblings is an irreplaceable longing. Knowledge can be pursued to the ends of the earth, yet nothing surpasses the beauty of seeing parents’ faces and returning to one’s birthplace on the morning of Eid al-Fitr. Do not forget to visit parents, however far they may be.
This sentiment, expressed by Ghina Zuhaira, a medical student at Syiah Kuala University (USK) in Banda Aceh, echoes the feelings of thousands of student travellers embarking on motorcycles along the Banda Aceh-Medan national route in Aceh Province since early Sunday morning. With diverse aspirations, these thousands share a single purpose: to celebrate Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijri/2026 CE with their beloved parents, regardless of the hundreds of kilometres separating them.
These students represent approximately 50,000 enrolled at various campuses in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Aceh, including Syiah Kuala University, UIN Ar-Raniry, Poltekkes, Abulyatama University, UBBG and numerous other institutions.
In the early hours of Sunday morning approaching dawn, observations revealed young male and female travellers congesting the roads from Banda Aceh to Sigli, the capital of Pidie District. Despite fatigue, their faces reflected joy as they travelled with fellow students.
Many paused briefly in the highlands of Saree, in Lembah Seulawah District, Aceh Besar Regency, a small, cool and fertile town where they rested briefly, stopping at roadside food stalls for pre-dawn meals and timing their prayers before dawn.
“Saree has many shops selling crackers and cassava tape. I bought several kilos as souvenirs for my mother and siblings,” said Safitra Qalbi, a fourth-semester law student at USK Banda Aceh, whose journey to her hometown in Jamur Ujung Village, Wih Pesam District, Bener Meriah Regency takes seven hours.
The young woman from Tanah Gayo, another name for Bener Meriah, noted that the 301-kilometre motorcycle journey is exhausting, particularly when crossing the Seulawah mountains at the Aceh Besar-Pidie border and the hilly routes through Bireuen Regency towards Bener Meriah. The roads were recently damaged by landslides and severe flooding across Sumatra on 24–27 November 2025.
“Fatigue transforms into joy during the journey with fellow female students. My longing dissipates upon arriving home and seeing my mother’s face around 14:00. The incomparable beauty arrives when breaking the fast together as a complete family,” said Safitra Qalbi.
Beyond Safitra, thousands of other students travel even greater distances to cities like Langsa, 411 kilometres away, and Aceh Tamiang, 471 kilometres away. Some even travel by motorcycle to Medan, North Sumatra, via the national route, a journey of approximately 575 kilometres or 12 hours.
Student travellers regularly stop at mosques, prayer rooms and prayer halls when prayer times arrive. They also pause briefly to rest at community halls, food stalls or seating areas along the routes they traverse.
Farida Hanum, a fourth-semester student in the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education at USK, described homecoming for Eid al-Fitr as a spiritually meaningful journey aimed at reuniting with family, despite travelling hundreds of kilometres through steep climbs, descents and sharp bends.
“This is all to see parents’ weary faces and to enjoy the village’s natural environment with its lush trees, expansive rice fields and cool valleys that seem to welcome those who have been away for so long,” said Farida, a graduate of Sukma Bangsa Senior High School in Pidie and an essay-writing competition winner.
According to Media Indonesia’s investigation, at least 50,000 student travellers depart Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Aceh, heading to their hometowns. They study at various state and private universities in the capital of Indonesia’s kilometre zero.
For the Eid al-Fitr holiday, they utilise the break to return, dispersing across all corners of Aceh and various provinces throughout the nation. Hundreds of foreign students also travel to their respective countries.
“I wish to fly home soon. Though it is simple there, far from urban commotion, free from vehicle exhaust and concrete buildings. I want to see vast rice fields painted with sunset views at the horizon—truly unsurpassable beauty. Not to mention meeting childhood friends: gentle girls in headscarves and boys in traditional sarongs. It is as though we return to childhood, playing and running along rice paddy edges and village alleyways with our friends,” recounted Ghina Zuhaira, a junior doctor currently completing clinical rotations at Zainoel Abidin General Hospital in Banda Aceh.
Prof Mustanir, Vice Rector for Student Affairs and Entrepreneurship at USK, cautioned that this Eid al-Fitr holiday exodus is exceptionally dense, particularly on the Banda Aceh-Medan national route and the Banda Aceh-Southwest national route.
The same applies to maritime crossing routes from mainland Aceh to Simeulue Island, the Singkil-Banyak Island crossing and the Banda Aceh-Sabang route. The exodus also surges through air routes from and to Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport in Aceh Besar.
The university hopes students, particularly women, exercise caution, especially whilst using public buses, aircraft, ferries, private minibuses and motorcycles.
“If you witness or experience violence and feel unsafe, do not hesitate to report to the task force hotline.”