Festivals and Celebrations in Pahang

Festivals and celebrations in Pahang are many and often because the state, being part of Malaysia, is delightfully multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious, with a government dedicated to defending freedom of religion for all.

In fact, the main festivals of all the major races in Malaysia have been elevated into national festivals.

National holidays, if not state holidays, are accorded to the festivals to enable all citizens of the country to enjoy them, irrespective of race or religion.

And not surprisingly, you will find Malaysians visiting their neighbors and friends of different ethnic and religious backgrounds during festivals - a unique tradition of Malaysians. This tradition ties bonds of lasting friendship and harmony among the various races in the country.

In other words, festivals and celebrations in Pahang and Malaysia are enjoyed not only by the ethnic race celebrating the event, but also by the other races as well.

NICE SPREAD OF RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS

The many festivals and celebrations mostly fall inevitably at various times of the year according to the specific ethnic or religious calendars.

And therefore we always find that the "New Year" for Malaysians doesn’t just fall on the 1st of January. Although 1st of January is always celebrated with joy and fireworks in the big cities and towns, we lucky Malaysians do also have other "New Years" to celebrate.

For instance, the Malays, being Muslims, celebrate their New Year on the 1st of Muharram or Awal Muharram, which is based on the Islamic lunar calendar (the Hijri), and this falls on different days of the Gregorian calendar.

And so do the Chinese, Indians and other minority groups residing peacefully in the country. They too have their own religious New Year to celebrate, based on their own religious and zodiac calendars. (see below)

There are occasions however, when nature collaborates and religious celebrations do sometimes fall on, or nearly on, the same day together, creating a gigantic celebration by different faiths on that day.

This in fact happened on the 14th of April 2006, when thousands of Hindus and Sikhs thronged their temples on their new year’s day. On the same day Christians were at their churches celebrating Good Friday.

It was an occasion of remarkable splendour and goodwill in Pahang and the country when many faiths observed their festivals on that day.

Also in 2006, Deepavali was celebrated on the 21st of October 2006, while Muslims, after a month of fasting in Ramadan, celebrated Aidil Fitri on the 24th of October 2006. The Mooncake (Mid-Autumn) Festival in fact fell earlier on 7th October 2006.

Well, really a month of non-stop celebrations then in October 2006 for folks in Pahang and Malaysia.

END OF SIDE-NOTE

NEW YEAR FOR ALL

In Pahang, and of course in Malaysia as a whole, the official New Year is celebrated nationally on the 1st of January based on the Gregorian solar calendar of 12 months and 365 days.

However, as mentioned earlier, other "New Years" are celebrated by the people.

The Malays, being Muslims, celebrate their New Year on the 1st of Muharram following the "Hijri" or Islamic lunar calendar, of 354 days in a year. In year 2008, the day (known as "Awal Muharram" by the Malays) fell on 10th January 2008.

For the Chinese in Pahang and Malaysia, the Chinese New Year (Rat year) for this year, based on the Chinese zodiac calendar, is on the 7th February, 2008. Last year (Pig) it was on the 18th February 2007. Chinese New Year usually falls in January or February of the Gregorian calendar.

For the Tamil Hindus, the new Year is called Varusha Pirappu. The Tamils believe that on this new year day Lord Brahma, who Hindus believe is the creator of the world, began his divine work.

So also are the Malayalees, who celebrated on that day their New Year called Vishu.

And the Sinhalese (mostly Sri Lankans) with their New Year called Aluth Avuruddha.

Sikhs (mostly Punjabis) also celebrate the Vaisakhi, which marks the anniversary of the creation of Khalsa by the 10th Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh. There are about 90,000 Sikhs in the country.

Malaysians of Thai origin celebrate their new year with a festival called "Songkran" (New Year and Water Festival). During this festival, people get wet when they get sprayed or bathed with water.

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MAIN RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS IN PAHANG

Well, besides the new year, there are other major religious festivals and celebrations in Pahang and Malaysia.

The following are some of the festivals and celebrations in Pahang that I will endeavor to describe in this website. And hopefully other festivals and occasions will be added from time to time:

Malays (Muslims)
* Aidil Fitri
* Aidil Adha
* Awal Muharram and Maal Hijrah
* Maulidur Rasul

Chinese (Buddhists)
* Chinese New Year and Chap Goh Meh
* Mooncake (Mid-Autumn)
* Qing Ming

Indians (Hindus)
* Deepavali / Deevali

Others (Christians)
* Christmas

ALL YEAR ROUND MERRIMENT

So, living in a diverse racial and religious society of course means the advantage of an all-year-round of joys and merriment by Malaysians of all races during their religious festivals and celebrations.

And foreign tourists in Malaysia are always welcomed and encouraged to participate and mingle in the joys of the celebrations, because peace and harmony amongst people of all races are what characterize Malaysia – a close-knit family of diverse ethnic groups.

Fortunate, aren’t we, Malaysians?

As always, from me...