Around Klang Valley, families could be seen filling their baskets with meat, vegetables and spices, using the extra time to plan and prepare.
For teacher Afiqah Fauzy, 34, the extra day meant adding more dishes to the family table.
“We bought fish and prawns today (Friday) as we plan on cooking laksa and prawn briyani tomorrow (Hari Raya).
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“We’re also getting blended ingredients today,” she said, adding that her mother had already prepared main Raya dishes like rendang.
Afiqah said between 30 and 50 guests are expected at her home in Petaling Jaya.
Similarly, student Nur Airyn Helena Adlan, 25, said her family was busy preparing their favourite green rendang dish.
“We’re making rendang with galangal and kaffir lime leaves, Negri Sembilan style,” she said when met at Petaling Jaya market.
“For a nice family activity, we are making cookies too, so we came to buy the ingredients as we don’t usually do kuih Raya.”
The extra holiday and later Raya helped ease preparations for Nur Airyn Helena’s family, given their busy schedules.
Sarawakian Nur Syamimi Alysa Mohamad Isa, 23, who is celebrating in Kuala Lumpur, said her Raya preparations blend familiar favourites with a touch of home.
“We’re making daging rendang and ayam kari, and adding some local flavours from Sarawak, like White Lady, a popular drink back home,” the baker said.
“Most of the main dishes, like rendang, are already prepared, but we bought vegetables today to make the accompanying dishes.
“Kuih raya had been done in advance, so now it’s just (adding) the final touches.”
Despite the festive mood, fireman Nor Hisham Yusof, 49, will still be on duty on the first day of Raya.
“I’ll be working the morning shift, so we’re celebrating in Puchong this year,” he said.
Nor Hisham shared that dishes like lontong and rendang remain a yearly staple, adding that the extra day had made a difference for him to help at home.
“With an additional day to prepare, it saves us a lot of time and we are able to do more things.”
Engineer Ahmad Irshad Sani Shahrudin, 37, echoed similar sentiments, saying the extra time allowed his family to better organise their preparations.
“Since Raya is tomorrow, we have a bit more time to prepare. We’ve bought decorations, Raya clothes and some snacks,” he said yesterday, adding that rendang and lodeh would be among the dishes on their menu for visiting relatives.
