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Tourism Malaysia

Tourism Malaysia: Top 7 in September

Mid-Autum Festival
When: George Town, Penang
Where: Sept 15

Also known as the Lantern or Mooncake Festival, this is a very popular celebration in East Asia. Traditionally, it was a harvest festival. Nowadays, Penang transforms itself into a magical place of colours and lights. Lions and dragons dance on the street and people eat the traditional Mooncake sweets. The lantern parades, like the “River of Lights” in George Town, are enchanting. Discover the Wushu competitions and have fun at the Pesta Tanglung Carnival. Every corner in the city will be a party!

More information: http://www.mypenang.gov.my/ • Image source

 

 

Yap Qin  Yap Yi at JB Art Festival 1JB Arts Festival
When: Johor Bahru
Where: Sept 1 – 30

All the culture and arts you can imagine in one month! The whole family will enjoy this event. Music, theatre, dance or comedy, contemporary or traditional: there is a performance for every taste and age. Professionals can learn and enjoy in one of the many workshops. Browse the programme and book a seat for your favourite spectacle!

More information: jbartsfest@hotmail.com

 

 

Songket Weaving
ASEAN Songket Weaving Exhibition
When: Sept 15 – Dec 31
Where: National Textile Museum, Kuala Lumpur

Arts and crafts lovers will enjoy this exhibition on the production and art of songket. This typical brocade textile is wide spread around Malaysia, Borneo and Indonesia. It consists of gold or silver thread patterned on silk or cotton. It can be a good opportunity to discover the National Textile Museum in Kuala Lumpur, a jewel of a museum in the heart of the city. A beautiful explosion of colours and fabrics.

More information: http://www.muziumtekstilnegara.gov.my/

 

 

Borneo Safari Black Backed Kingfisher
Borneo Bird Festival 
When: Sept 15 -17
Where: Rainforest Discovery Center, Sandakan, Sabah

The island of Borneo is home for 688 bird species, four of them are not found anywhere else in the world. Nature lovers and bird enthusiasts will descend on Sandakan in Sabah to spot these marvellous creatures. Visitors can take part in the Bird Race or in the photo contest. Just enjoying the colourful feathers and humming of the birds is also an option. For something slightly different check out the the best bird imitators in the Bird Mimic Contest.

More information: www.sabahtourism.com • Image source

 

 

Congkak
Festival Permainan Rakyat Traditional Games Festival
When: Sept 17 – 18
Where: Titiwangsa Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur

In the times of internet and video games, this festival is a breath of fresh air and a beautiful way to spend the weekend. Children and grown-ups will enjoy this opportunity to discover traditional Malaysian games like the Congkak or Batu Seremban which were played by their grandparents. One of the most entertaining ways to discover the local culture and heritage.

More information: Cultural Arts Development Division — amran@jkkn.gov.my

 

 

Sarawak Borneo Bintulu International Kites Festival
Borneo International Kite Festival (BIKF)
When: Sept 19 – 27
Where: Old Airport, Bintulu, Sarawak

Malaysians love their kites! This festival has taken place since 2005 and focuses on the creativity and performance of this beautiful art. Visitors can gaze at the most stunning kites entered in the Kite Championship. The Kite Festival is a good moment to discover the traditional Malaysian kites, known as Wau. The old airport of Bintulu, a former fishing village in Sarawak, is the perfect location for this exhibition where land meets sky.

More information: bda@bda.gov.my • Image source

 

 

DCIM101GOPRO

KL Tower International Jump Malaysia
When: Sept 30 – Oct 3
Where: KL Tower, Kuala Lumpur

More than 100 extreme sports enthusiast will gather to jump from the city’s iconic landmark. BASE jumpers will make a three second free fall before opening their parachutes. A breathtaking and beautiful spectacle full of adrenaline and amazing views of the city.

More information: www.menarakl.com.my • Image source

 

 

 

Categories
Tourism Malaysia

The Mooncake Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival in Malaysia

The Mooncake Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival in Malaysia

The Mooncake Festival in Kuala Lumpur is held in September, the eighth month of the year. Now before you think I’ve been eating too much mooncake or drinking too much moonshine, let me tell you why.

It’s simple. The Chinese New Year begins in February so September is not actually the ninth month on the Malaysian timetable. But whatever your calendar is, it’s a dazzling spectacle, especially at night when the city lights are complemented by the colourful paper lanterns of all shapes, sizes and colours displayed outside homes and shops or in street parades.

Incense coils are a common sight around Malaysia particularly in districts such as Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown. Pic: Joanne Lane

Incense coils are a common sight around Malaysia particularly in districts such as Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown. Pic: Joanne Lane

The festival is celebrated to signify the end of the harvesting season but it also celebrates the overthrow of the Mongol warlords in ancient China. Here we’ll have to take back in time to 1280 AD to explain. This is when the Mongols overthrew the Soong dynasty in China and imposed the Yuan dynasty in China.

Why is this important in Malaysia you may well ask? Well there are a lot of Chinese in Malaysia and until quite recently they were the largest ethnic group. Even though they aren’t any more, that honour belongs to the Malays themselves, Chinese festivals are celebrated with gusto. In fact in multi-ethnic Malaysia festivals of all traditions are celebrated including those of Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist and Christian origins.

Today lanterns form a big part of the celebration, as they are to remind the people of the time they used lanterns as their only source of light. Kids in particular love this aspect of the festival and are often seen roaming around with lanterns in the shape of animals. In Malaysia this particular event is often called the Lantern Parade. There are also lantern parades during the Chinese New Year celebrations, so if you see any such parade advertised just consider what time of year it is. If it’s around February it’s Chinese New Year, if not it could well be part of the Mooncake or Mid-Autumn Festival.

One of the best displays of Mooncake Festival lanterns is the Thean Hou Temple on Robson Hill. In 2011 a lantern parade was held at Central Market in Chinatown.

The best bit about the festival is of course what you get to eat. The round mooncakes are sweet or savoury and often given by younger Chinese to their seniors as an attempt to gain favour. Eating mooncakes in the market place is a delight; biting through crunchy pastry into red beans, ham or creamy egg yolk. Some are also sweet with chocolate and cinnamon flavours. Others have a distinctly Malaysian twist with pandan leaves and durian inside – eek some of you will no doubt say!

Mooncakes. Pic: misbehave (Moon Cakes  Uploaded by Atlaslin)

Mooncakes. Pic: misbehave (Moon Cakes Uploaded by Atlaslin)

The best place to eat them in Kuala Lumpar is Jalan Petaling in Chinatown where eateries display them in brightly coloured boxes.

While you may not be surprised that mooncakes are round, their shape represents the unity of the family to the Chinese. So in Malaysia the Chinese celebrate the festival with family gatherings and prayers.

There’s some tradition to this. In Chinese Halika and Foochow families the oldest women lead the prayers at the moment when the full moon appears. Before you eat a mooncake they are first offered on altars to deities with the customary lighting of joss sticks, red candles and the burning of golden joss paper. Thirty minutes later the eating begins.

Another Chinese festival that is very popular around Malaysia is the Festival of the Hungry Ghost.

If you miss the Mooncake Festival this year, Malaysia has a wealth of public holidays and special holidays. There are 44 public holidays each year largely based on the Muslim calendar or the Hindu and Chinese calendars.

Guandi Temple in Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur. Pic: Joanne Lane.

Guandi Temple in Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur. Pic: Joanne Lane.