Idul Fitri

“Idul Fitri” and “Idul Adha” are Indonesian spelling of Arabic “Eid al-Fitr” and Eid al-Adha. While “lebaran” is localized name for this festive occasion, the etymology is not clear. It is suggested derived from Javanese word lebar which means “finished”,^[1] then the word “lebar” is absorbed into Indonesian language with additional suffix “-an”, so it becomes a common vocabulary for a celebration when the fasting ritual is “finished”, or derived from Sundanese word lebar which means “abundance” or “many” to describe the abundance of foods and delicacies served for visiting guests; family, relatives, neighbors and friends during this festive occasion. Another theory suggested, “lebaran” is derived from Betawi, lebar which means “wide and broad”, so the celebration means to broaden or widen one’s heart feeling after fasting ritual of Ramadhan. Madurese people have also a similar word called lober to describe the completion of Ramadhan fast. It is also possible the word ‘lebaran’ derived from the word luber > luber-an > lebaran, which means overflow or flocking.