Much has been said about having a Green Ramadan. But what about a Green Eid? Sounds pretty tough… but here’s one little tip, for making a small eco-effort.

Eid al Fitr / Aidil Fitri / Idul Fitri (po-tay-to, po-tah-to… depending on where you are) is a wonderful occasion of merriment with family and friends. Children are often the merriest of them all, as they recieve little packets of money (Eidiya / Duit Raya) from older family members. Senior citizens also get this privilege.. oftentimes at higher premiums. The transition from being a recipient to giver of Eidiya is particularly harsh on new comers to the working world who desperately try to work out how much to  fork out of their very basic starting salaries (yes, I am speaking from experience).

A week ago, as I was filling the little envelopes with various denominations of Singapore dollars, I remembered the days when I was young and carefree and at the recieving end of these lucrative little packets. Oh, how I would open the envelopes with delight, and go wild when I found the rare packet containing 50 bucks. And to be sure that no envelope was left unopened, I would rip them open, just to play safe.

And what do we do with these ripped packets? You guessed it… dump it in the trash can. Imagine all them Muslim kids around the world ripping packets and tossing it in the dump. That would be quite a bit of waste, no?

Reflecting on this, perhaps next year I’d try to make the effort to be a bit more eco-creative and make my own envelopes. I must admit, the convenience of getting Eidiya envelopes is always there… especially with the witty comic jokes on some of them, and 2 bucks for a packet of 20!

Nevertheless, home-made envelopes out of recycled material would perhaps be a lot more personal. Here are some easy ways of making your own Eid envelopes. Knock yourself out! 🙂

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B: This one takes a bit longer but is pretty cool as it doesn’t require any glue or sticky tape….. Long live Origami! Take a hike, PSP!