Other Festivals

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is the most significant fiesta of the Chinese community which lasts for fifteen days. The festival is festooned with offerings made to Gods. It begins with a reunion dinner which is attended by every members of the family. The festival is obeyed according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, which generally falls in the month of January or February. Celebrated with vigor and interest the Chinese New Year is successfully grabbing all the Chinese community of Malaysia. Burning of firecrackers at midnight on the eve is the attracting feature of the festival- Chinese New Year.

Though it is an occasion of 15 days festivity, the main festival is celebrated on the first three days. The preparations of the festival starts long before the festival date with cleaning of the house, purchasing of flowers and kumquat trees for decoration. Ang-Pow or red packet with money is given out to children and elderly of the family. Open house is accomplished for vacationing where relatives and friends from various ethnic races accumulate.

Activities of Chinese New Year :

All the family members take a joint family dinner to welcome the New Year. As per the tradition and customs the younger ones of the family visit their relatives and obtain red packets of lucky money or ang paus as gifts. Chingay Parade is the added magnetism of the Chinese New Year. At the parade there lays gatherings of stilt walkers, acrobatic performances and lion or dragon dances. Penang in Malaysia is the best place to witness and participate in celebration of Chinese New Year.

Malaysia is a well liked travelers halt for accumulating a huge gathering of people from different religions. Hindus, Muslims as well as Christians make their way to Malaysia to celebrate their particular occasion. Christmas, the observance of the birth of Jesus Christ on Dec 25 is enjoyed in Malaysia like any other Christian dominated place in the world. Christmas in Malaysia is celebrated together with family and friends.

Christmas is an occasion of hope and rejoicing; love and understanding; giving and forgiving, thus inviting travelers from all round the globe. This event is also celebrated by non-Christian in some other places in Malaysia. It is a family gathering, starting with a midnight mass on Christmas Eve followed by Christmas Day merriment the next day. There lays a popular belief that Santa Claus gives presents to people at night during Christmas Eve. Exchange of gifts is a popular ritual of Christmas. Roast turkey is a common and traditional dish of Malaysia during time of the fiesta.

Penang International Dragon Boat Festival is the ultimate charm of visiting the beautiful Malaysian island of Penang. Obeyed as per the south-east Asian calendar the Dragon Boat race of Malaysia is significantly grabbing the global travelers’ attraction. These Races have been held since 1979 which attracts tremendous crowd to experience its majestic ambiance. The boat crews are encouraged by the spectators with beating of drums alongside the river. Another reason behind beating of drums is to scare the fishes away. Putting of dumplings in the water is for distraction of fishes mode thus not to obstruct boaters way. Therefore, traditional visitors eat dumplings around the festival.

The boat festival has gained the tradition of international tourism carnival from the year 1979. Entries from all round the globe are allowed in the race. The Penang International Dragon Boat Festival has comprised groups of participator from all over the world as Norway, Macau, Thailand, Japan, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, West Germany, USA and others. Penang International Dragon Boat Festival has made Penang as well as Malaysia more delightful and every year the carnival appears to get busier and more successful.

Among all the national and regional festivals of Malaysia, National Water festival plays a predominant position. National Water festival is directly linked with the socio-cultural and economic growth of the Malaysian society. A vast array of water related programme takes place over the whole month during the festival. Sandcastle building tournaments, kayaking and sailing events, underwater treasure hunts, and jet-ski races are prime attractions of the National Water festival. Water resource is main attraction of the National Water festival in Malaysia. Programme on musical presentations and dance occasions are also there for various indoor and outdoor venues.

When temperature rises to its peak in summer, a month-long Water Festival tries to keep it cool. Thus, water resource in its every form is protected, appreciated and utilized to its fullest extend. The fun gets more enchanting with taking of usual tapai, an alcoholic drink made from rice wine. Agriculture shows, buffalo races, cultural performances and traditional games are accountable in making the National Water Festival of Malaysia more alluring and fascinating.

The Nine Emperor Gods Festivals is an amazing carnival of Malaysia organized on the ninth day of the ninth moon in the Chinese lunar calendar. It’s a festival of celebrating nine emperor gods namely Tianying, Tianren, Tianzhu, Tianxin, Tianqin, Tianfu, Tianchong, Tianrui and Tianpeng. The festival goes within a sequence of rituals and customs. There witness a large gathering of devotees from all throughout the country during this religious pageant. ‘Jieu Hwang Yeh’ is the part of a spirit-medium of the Nine Emperor Gods. These Nine gods are supposed to reside in heaven within the stars, under the arena of ‘Thien Hou’ - the Queen of Heaven.

The Nine Emperor Gods Festivals creates a carnival-like ambience that pervades the temple throughout the nine-day festival. During these nine days a constant tinkling of a prayer bell and chants are mostly done by the inhabitants of Malaysia. Most devotees like to enjoy their time by halting at temple vicinity while taking vegetarian meals and recite continuous chanting of prayer. As per popular belief and admiration the arrival of the Nine Emperor Gods will occur through the waterways. So, processions hold from temples to the sea-shore or river to represent this faith. It’s a festival to memorize Malaysian highly rich customary and tradition. By carrying joss-sticks and candles the devotees dressed in traditional white which presents the influx of their “Excellencies”.

Thaiponggol is the harvest festival of Malaysia celebrated with great enthusiasm and jollity. The date and time of the festival is fixed in the Hindu calendar. The festival goes under a sequence of rituals and customaries. As per Hindu customs the farmers rise and cook some of newly harvested grain before dawn. Before sunrise, the harvested cooked grain or Ponggol is presented in front of sun god. The sun god is worshiped and admired as on whom the crops depend. Prayers performed during the time at the temple premise or in the home of a small scale.

Thaiponggol is the festival celebrated by Tamils in Malaysia. In case of urban families, this ritual has been tailored to their own living situations. Here all the family members rise early in the morning, bathes and gets dressed before dawn. The fiesta is organized without using any kind of light. All the family members by wearing their best dresses gather round with a display of fruits and flowers. The ambience of Malaysia becomes so pleasant with lighting of lamps at the time of the festival. The extraordinary natural beauty of Malaysia becomes majestic during Thaiponggol that ushers worldwide travelers for a calm visit of the state.