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This was long before it was associated with Eid. The history of the dish is similar to sushi in Japan - this style of rice preparation came from the seafarers who needed to keep cooked rice from spoiling during long sea voyages.
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Everyone was stuck in the cities where they work. In big cities like Jakarta, the streets are empty for at least three days as people return to their parent’s homes in smaller towns and villages.īut this year Eid al-Fitr was during the pandemic and things were very different. These rituals have been embedded in Muslim-Indonesian culture for decades, and we look forward to them every year.
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Most of them are filled with dry cookies in pretty containers - nastar⁵ (pineapple cookies) and kaastengels⁶ are the most popular among them. During Eid al-Fitr, houses are packed with boxes of parcels or nowadays as we call them, hampers - gifts from colleagues, relatives, and our bosses.
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