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‘Mudik’ or not, people hold on to Idul Fitri homemade cookie tradition

Seasonal joy: Theresia Louisa Sianturi, 62, prepares nastar (pineapple paste cookies) at home to cater to the seasonal Idul Fitri orders that her home industry brand Star Cookies has received this year

Sebastian Partogi (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, May 5, 2020

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‘Mudik’ or not, people hold on to Idul Fitri homemade cookie tradition

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easonal joy: Theresia Louisa Sianturi, 62, prepares nastar (pineapple paste cookies) at home to cater to the seasonal Idul Fitri orders that her home industry brand Star Cookies has received this year. COVID-19-related large-scale social restrictions including a mudik (Idul Fitri exodus) ban have led to fewer gatherings among Muslims during Ramadan and Idul Fitri this year. However, many people still order these traditional cookies in order to enjoy Lebaran with their immediate family members and to send as gift packages to distant family members to sustain their social bonds amid the physical distancing. (JP/Sebastian Partogi)

For many Indonesians, the month of Ramadan is a bonding moment of togetherness with members of their family and inner circle, which culminates in the Idul Fitri celebration, marked by various social gatherings.

This year, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people can no longer conduct these social gatherings at home, nor can they return to their hometowns as the government officially banned mudik (Idul Fitri exodus) to prevent people from contracting the coronavirus.

Yet, to celebrate Idul Fitri in a festive way, many Indonesians are still ordering various types of signature Lebaran cookies such as nastar (pineapple paste cookie), kastengel (cheese cookie) and putri salju (sugar-coated cookie) to enjoy the holiday with their immediate family at home while sending these cookies as gifts to family and friends as a way to keep social bonding alive amid large-scale social restrictions.

Ary Novianti, a 53-year-old woman who lives with her three children and husband in Bekasi, West Java, is one of these people.

“I will still send these cookies as gifts for my siblings living in Jakarta, Bandung in West Java and Surabaya in East Java,” she explained.

Dyah Ratna, a 53-year-old woman living in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, with her husband and 25-year-old daughter said her family also wanted something to munch on with a cup of coffee during Idul Fitri.

According to Theresia Louisa Sianturi, a 62-year-old homemade cookie baker who has run her business Star Cookies since 2000 in Depok, West Java, the Ramadan period has always been a peak season for business, yet this year, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the number of orders has declined.

Previously, Theresia said she would sell 400 to 500 cookie jars two months ahead of Idul Fitri, resulting in seasonal income totaling Rp 60 million (US$4027). This year, due to some lockdown-related logistics issues caused by the delayed arrival of imported ingredients, Theresia could not start baking her cookies ahead of time, causing her to limit the amount of orders coming her way.

“This year, I can only make 150 jars of cookies, resulting in a seasonal income of about Rp 30 million. If the imported butter and cheese I use to bake these cookies are available again in the market, I can consider opening a new batch of orders,” she said.

Nilza, a 57-year-old cookie baker living in Joglo, West Jakarta, who has run her business of making traditional snacks and rendang (slow-cooked meat in coconut milk) since 2015, said that she usually made about 170 jars of cookies to cater to orders during Idul Fitri, resulting in seasonal income of Rp 20 million from cookies alone.

This year, she could only make about 60 jars of cookies, also due to the delayed availability of imported ingredients, resulting in seasonal income of about Rp 7 million to 9 million from her cookie business. Nilza, however, has received more income from the extra rendang orders from people this Ramadan.

Both Theresia and Nilza work alone to bake their cookies; therefore, the supply chain disruptions have significantly reduced the time they have to finish baking their cookies.

Both of them also need to take extra precautions when delivering the cookies – and they have to wear masks and gloves while baking them.

“I will clean the jars using soap before filling them with the cookies before putting them in a box, then clean the box’s outer layers with disinfectant again before asking my assistant to deliver them using GoCar or BlueBird taxi,” Theresia explained.

Nevertheless, Theresia said she was grateful for the incoming orders this year.

“It helps me occupy my time. When I’m tired I’ll just read books or do a crossword puzzle; I will not pay any attention to news on the coronavirus circulating in my WhatsApp groups,” she said.

Likewise, Ary and Dyah decided to look at the silver lining of the social restrictions.

Both of them said they had been able to spend more intimate time with their family for the predawn and breaking-of-the-fast meals while conducting their salat berjamaah (communal prayers) with them every day; something they had not done for a long time.

“My son, who already works and lives in his own apartment, and my other son, who lives in a boarding house to attend university, have returned home again to work from home and attend classes online, respectively. This reminds me of our togetherness when they were still small children. Now, we can exchange stories on each other’s struggles and problems more intensely as we have more time on our side,” Ary said.

Both Ary and Dyah said they planned to conduct virtual Idul Fitri gatherings with extended family members, peppering these online gatherings with games, lucky draws and, of course, remote cookie-and-coffee time.

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