Festivals and Holidays

Some holidays are gazetted by the federal government, while some are observed by individual states. There exists some festivals observed by smaller ethnic or religion groups that are not public holidays.

The most important holiday for Malaysians is Hari Kebangsaan or in English it is called National Day which is celebrated every 31st of August. This day marks the anniversary of Malaysia Independence in 1957. Malaysia Day, however is celebrated only in Sabah and Sarawak on 16th of September to commemorate the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

Muslims in Malaysia celebrate Hari Raya Puasa (a.k.a Hari Raya Aidilfitri) which is globally known as Eid ul-Fitr. It marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan in the Islamic / Hijri calendar. In addition they also celebrates Hari Raya Haji (a.k.a Hari Raya Aidiladha) which is globally known as Eid ul-Adha, Awal Muharram (Islamic New Year), and Maulid ur-Rasul (birthday of Prophet Muhammad).

Chinese in Malaysia typically celebrates festivals that are observed by Chinese all around the world. The most celebrated festival is Chinese New Year which is celebrated within 15 days and ends with Chap Goh Meh. However, the public holiday is gazetted only for the 2 first days of the new year. In addition to this, Chinese who are Buddhists also celebrates Wesak Day (sometimes called Vesak Day). Other festivals that are not gazetted as Federal public holiday includes the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Indians in Malaysia are mostly Hindus and they celebrate Deepavali (a.k.a. Diwali), the festival of lights. Thaipusam is also celebrated which pilgrims from all over the country flock to Batu Caves to show devotion to Lord Murugan. However, Thaipusam is not a Federal gazetted holiday and only observed by the state of Selangor, where Batu Caves is.

Other festivals such as Good Friday (East Malaysia only), Christmas, Hari Gawai of the Ibans (Dayaks), Pesta Menuai (Pesta Kaamatan) of the Kadazan-Dusuns are also celebrated in Malaysia.

Despite most of the festivals are directly related to a particular ethnic or religion, all Malaysians celebrate the festivities together regardless of their religions and ethnic background.

For years, when Hari Raya Puasa and Chinese New Year coincided, a slogan Kongsi Raya, a combination of Gong Xi Fa Cai, a greeting used on the Chinese New Year, and Hari Raya (which could also mean "celebrating together" in Malay language) was introduced. Similarly, when the Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali coincide, and a slogan Deepa Raya is similarly introduced.

In conclusion, ethnic groups in Malaysia live in harmony, while respecting others faith and differences.

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