Idul Fitri

We went to our first parade- it was weird. It was the start of Idul Fitri, and the end of the 30 day fast, so on this island all the mosques make floats that depict their mosque and decorate with lots of twinkle lights, and other lighted stuff (such as the stars and Arabic letters in the photos). Then they hook it all to a generator and go out walking! They play music or drums to cover the roar of the generator, and everybody holds onto the cords that connect the floats to the generator. It looks a lot like kindergarten kids out for a walk, all holding onto the same rope. All the floats end up at the mayor's office where they have a giant fireworks display. Needless to say, our presence at the parade attracted as much attention as the floats, but it was a good culture experience. It was great to see everybody celebrating and having a good time, but overall we left with a somber feeling, because we would rather them be celebrating something else!