Since I came back to Seattle  I feel like none of the holidays here feel as festive as Raya Puasa (Eid al Fitr) in Malaysia. Don’t get me wrong, I love eating on Thanksgiving as much as the people here do – the multiple feasts at multiple locations, serving basically variations of the same dishes – because food is like my number one reason for being in this world. I also like getting free stuff for Christmas. In Malaysia I would be lucky to get a gift on my birthday. Other than that, one has to get married or have a baby if one wants any gift at all (unless your family celebrates Christmas in Malaysia then yeah…).