Buka Puasa or Breaking Fast

The month of Ramadan to the Muslims is a holy month.Its the time of the year when they fast to remind them not to be humanly weak and to also appreciate the blessings of God.In the early days I remember going to my Muslim's friends house to break fast with them .It was great seeing them break their fast and the lady of the house serving simple dishes>There was great fellowship as we ate together and after that sat down by the open air in the house and sipped coffee or tea and just chatted away. The concept of fasting is wonderful as it deprives you of food the whole day and your body is cleansed so that you become more aware of the spiritual aspects of life. I enjoyed going to different friends houses to break fast together with them and the feeling of fellowship was strong cutting across race ,religion and creed.It was the time to strengthen the friendship and understanding>To us, non Muslims it was an eye opener as we learnt more about Islam and the meaning and rationale behind fasting. Today the practice of breaking fast has taken a new twist,you have the lavish Buka Puasa buffets in hotels , clubs and restaurants.I wonder whether this is good or not but to my non Muslim mind the very purpose of fasting seems to have been lost.You should not deprive yourself of food the whole day and then suddenly splurge and maybe overeat at the end of the day.And what is worse look at the amount of wastage.Surely this would defeat the purpose of fasting ? Its not uncommon to find vendors charging exorbitant sums for this buffet and people being what they are will want to eat their money's worth ,hence the kiasu and overeating syndrome.Where is the moderation and gratitude that comes with fasting? There is nothing like the simple breaking fast that should bring families and friends together.I would rather appreciate family members chipping in and breaking fast together as this will definitely strengthen family bonds for after all in normal times how often do families eat together ? From the business point of view most food vendors will take this opportunity to make big profits and I just wonder how does this jive in with the fasting objectives? In the kampongs perhaps you will see the gathering of people to break fast together .The food need not be lavish but the gathering of families and friends certainly has more meaning ....