Hari Raya Aidilfitri
The most important festival in Malaysia is the Islamic New Year celebrations of
Eid al-Fitr, or as it is known in Malay, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri which is celebrated by Islams/Muslims.
Hari Raya marks the
end of the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, also known as the month
Ramadhan, thus celebrating the end of a month of dawn-to-sunset fasting.
Celebrated as a two-day nationwide holiday in Malaysia, many families would
travel back to their hometowns to celebrate with their extended families.
It is customary for
some Muslim families to host ‘rumah buka’ or ‘open house’, where they welcome
neighbours and members of the community into their house to join in the
celebrations where one can enjoy festive food such as curry chicken, beef rendang , chicken satay,
ketupat, lemang, rose Chinese New Year
Deepavali
Diwali is the festival of lights celebrated by hindus
in Malaysia and designated as a national holiday. Deepavali signifies the
triumph of good over evil. Homes of Hindus are lit with lights to signify the
victory over darkness. Also, colourful rangoli which are made with coloured
rice and flowers are made in front of each home to bring prosperity and
success.
The day starts off by taking a bath
with oil and praying. Then the get together with family and friends take place
and variety of dishes like Briyani, Chicken curry ,Mutton Perattal, Prawns,
Sweets, Payasam, Cakes,Cookies ,etc served.Later at nights fireworks takes
place.
Chinese New Year
Aside from Hari Raya, Chinese New Year is the only other festival in Malaysia that is given a two-day nationwide holiday. This is a time when the country really gets painted red as Chinese families and businesses would decorate their houses and streets with traditional red decorations in the age-old Chinese tradition of warding off evil spirits.
While Chinese New Year is traditionally a 15-day long celebration, most Chinese families would be busying themselves with family get-togethers on the first two days before returning to their normal routine after. That being said, many Chinese communities would continue on with celebratory traditions such as lion dance performances, lighting fireworks, and go to house visitations throughout the festive period.
It is during this period when friends and relatives are welcomed to visit one another’s homes, where reunion lunch will be served.Tradition of eating Yu Sheng during Chinese New Year is believed to be lucky.