Holidays and Festivals
Mohd Rafiq Bin Mujilan


HARI RAYA: PEOPLE WILL ASKING APOLOGIES FROM THE ELDEST


Malaysians observe a number of holidays and festivities throughout the year. Some holidays are federally gazetted public holidays and some are public holidays observed by individual states. Other festivals are observed by particular ethnic or religion groups, but are not public holidays. The most celebrated holiday is the " Hari Kebangsaan" (Independence Day), otherwise known as "Merdeka" (Freedom), on 31 August commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malay in 1957, while Malaysia Day is celebrated on 16 September to commemorate the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Other notable national holidays are Hari Merdeka, Labour Day (1 May), and the King's birthday (first Saturday of June).

Muslim Holidays are prominent in Malaysia, the most celebrated being Hari Raya Puasa (also called Hari Raya Aidilfitri), which is Malay for Eid al Fitr. Hari Raya Haji (also called Hari Raya Aidiladha, the translation of Eid-ul Adha), Awal Muharram (Islamic New Year) and Maulidul  Rasul (Birthday of the Prophet) is also celebrated. Malaysian Chinese typically celebrate the same festivals observed by Chinese around the world. Chinese New Year  is the most celebrated among the festivals. Malaysian Buddhists celebrate Vesak or Wesak, the day of Buddha's birth. Hindus in Malaysia celebrate Diwali/ Deepavali, the festival of light, while Thaipusam is a celebration in which pilgrims from all over the country celebrate at the Batu Caves. Sikhs celebrate the Sikh new year or Baisakhi, more commonly known as the Vaisakhi festival.  Malaysia's Christian community celebrates most of the holidays observed by Christians elsewhere, most notably Christmas and Easter. East Malaysians also celebrate the harvest festivals of Gawai in Sarawak and Kaamatan in Sabah
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