CULTURE OF MALAYSIA : Festivals

MALAYSIAN FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS

Anyone visiting Malaysia for the first time would not cease to be amazed by the number of festivals and events that are happening the whole year around. Malaysia, with its mix of ethnic races which include Malays, descendants of the Bugis and Javanese, Chinese, Indian and others, features a colourful potpourri of cultural traditions. Many of these traditions are expressed through the festivals that take place the whole year round.

MALAY

EID UL-FITR (Hari Raya Aidilfitri)

After a month of fasting during the month of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the first day of Syawal which is the tenth month of the Muslim calendar with joyous enthusiasm. This is a major festival for Muslims and they usher in the day with prayers in mosques and remembering their departed loved ones. It is also the time for family reunion when members of the family from different parts of the country get together. The festival mood is with joyous enthusiasm. Special festival dishes are served for festivals and friends during "open house". The festival mood is reflected is brightly decorated homes, government and commercial buildings. Homes are also lit with all lamps at the entrance in keeping with a long established tradition.

EID AL-ADHA (Hari Raya Aidil Adha)

Eid al-Adha or Feast of the Sacrifice or Greater Eid, is an importantreligious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honor the willingness of ʾIbrāhīm (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismā'īl (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep to sacrifice instead. The festival is also known as Id-ul-Zuha. The word "id" derived from the Arabic "iwd" means "festival" and "zuha" comes from "uzhaiyya" which translates to "sacrifice".

Eid al-Adha is the latter of two Eid festivals celebrated by Sunni and Shia Muslims. The basis for the Eid al-Adha comes from the 196th verse of sura2 (Al-Baqara) of the Quran. The word "Eid" appears in Sura al-Mai'da ("The Table Spread," Chapter 5) of the Qur'an, meaning 'solemn festival'. The days of Eid al Adha are the 10th of Dhul Hijjah upto the 12th of Dhul Hijjah (3 days and 2 nights) sacrifice may take place until sunset on the 13th Day. The days of Eid have been singled out in the Hadith as "days of remembrance".

The days of Tashriq are from the Fajr of the 9th of Dhul Hijjah upto the Asr of the 13th of Dhul Hijjah (5 days and 4 nights). This equals 23 prayers: 5 on the 9th-12th which equal 20 and 3 on the 13th. This includes the Friday congregational prayer if it falls within these days. There is no harm in saying it after the Eid al-Adha prayer. Like Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Adha begins with a Sunnah prayer of two Raka'ah (units) followed by a sermon (khuṭbah). Eid al-Adha is celebrated annually on the 10th, 11th and 12th day of the twelfth and the last Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar. Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. The date is approximately 70 days (2 Months & 10 days) after the end of the month of Ramadan, i.e. Eid-ul-Fitr. Ritual observance of the holiday lasts until sunset of the 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah.





CHINESE


CHINESE NEW YEAR

This is the most important festival of the Chinese community and it lasts for a full two weeks! It begins with a reunion dinner which is traditional for every member of the family to attend. Chinese New Year is the time when spirits are appeared and offerings are made to Gods. It is a boisterous festival with the clang of cymbals accompanying lion dances and the thunder of fire crackles filling the air. Guests are entertained to a variety of sumptuous food and drinks and the unmarried youngsters are given Ang Pows - gifts of money enclosed in little red packets. Major hotels and shopping complexes celebrate the occasion by holding lion dances and special Chinese programmers to entertain their clients.





CHAP GOH MEI

A festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar year in the lunar calendar, the last day of the lunisolar lunar New Year celebration. It is not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is sometimes also known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Singapore and Malaysia. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns (simplified Chinese: 猜灯谜; traditional Chinese: 猜燈謎; pinyin: cāidēngmí). It officially ends the Chinese New Year celebrations.

In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones; in modern times, lanterns have been being embellished with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in shapes of animals. The lanterns can symbolize the people letting go of their past selves and getting a new one, which they will let go of the next year.





INDIAN


DEEPAVALI

This is a Hindu festival of light. Homes of Hindus are lit with little lights to signify the victory over darkness for the Hindus believe that this is the day when the forces of good overcame the forces of evil. Deepavali is a major festival of the Hindus and on the eve prayers are held both at home and in the temples.Hindus take a traditional oil bath in the early hours of the morning on Deepavali day and after prayers entertain their friends and guests to "open house.

THAIPUSAM

A Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai which is January/February It is not only observed in countries where the Tamil community constitutes a majority but also Tamil community in Malaysia.The word Thaipusam is a combination of the name of the month, Thai, and the name of a star, Pusam. This particular star is at its highest point during the festival, In Malaysia the largest Thaipusam celebrations take place in Mauritius, Malaysia and Singapore. It is a public holiday in several states in Malaysia, including Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Perak, Johor, Sungai Petani and Kuala Lumpur.

The temple at Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur, often attracts over one million devotees and tens of thousands of tourists. The procession to the caves starts at the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur in the heart of the city and proceeds for 15 kilometers to the caves, an 8-hour journey culminating in a flight of 272 steps to the top. Thaipusam is also celebrated at another cave site, the Sri Subramaniar Temple in Gunong Cheroh, Ipoh, Perak and at the Nattukottai Chettiar Temple along Jalan Waterfall in Penang.The chariot procession begins on Thaipusam eve where the chariot together with Chettiar kavadis -- male chettiar carry a peacock feather yoke accompanying the silver chariot that is different from body-piercing type of kavadis departs Kovil Veedu on Penang Street, Georgetown in the morning ends here at night,an 10 hours journey to reach Hilltop temple. They retreat to the chettinar for three days before accompanying the chariot back to town,Penang.Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) reported that about 500,000 devotess visit Arulmigu Sri Thandayuthapani Temple(Hilltop)every year. Temple secretary P. Palaiya Sri Subramaniar Temple in Gunong Cheroh reported that about 250,000 devotees participated in the festival 2007, including 300 kavadi bearers, while 15,000 came with milk offerings.