Malaysian Holidays

I was just looking at Case's work calendar and was quite disappointed when I realized that we won't be having a long weekend until the end of November. Since living in Malaysia, I have become accustomed to the frequent public holidays.

The dominant religion (about 60%) in Malaysia is Islam. However, about 20% of the population is Buddhist, 10% is Christian and 6% is Hindu. Although Malaysia is a Muslim country, other faiths are allowed to exist here because of the indigenous Chinese and Indian populations. Thus, there are plenty of holidays/festivals throughout the year.

Recently we had extended weekends for Hari Raya Puasa (the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan) and Deepavali (the Hindu festival of lights). While the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving, we will have one day off for Hari Raya Haji (which marks the end of the Muslim haj pilgrimage period). In December, we will have three three-day weekends in a row for our Sultan's birthday, Awal Murram (the beginning of the Islamic year) and Christmas. Then, of course, the next weekend is a three-day weekend for the New Year.

Although we haven't spent a lot of time exploring during these long weekends, we have enjoyed our extended time together as a family. Hari Raya Puasa was actually a four-day weekend, and one of those days we spent at our church's family day. Click here to see photos from that day. You'll see a number of photos of Case and the kids.

As soon as Deepavali was over, the stores began to decorate for Christmas*. I noticed Christmas decorations before we flipped our calendars over to November!

*I've seen Christmas trees, ornaments and snowflakes, but no nativity scenes.



Speaking of Christmas, our tickets are booked and we look forward to spending time with family and friends back in the U.S.