An April full of holy days

GEORGE TOWN: April is full of religious and cultural events, making it a busy and colourful month for Malaysians, and even foreign workers.

While the fasting month of Ramadan began on April 3, there will also be the Christian Holy Week and the Sikh Vaisakhi, besides various South Asian and South-East Asian new year celebrations.

Qing Ming, when the Chinese remember their ancestors, is also ongoing.

Think City and Penang Gandhi Peace Centre chairman Datuk Seri Dr Anwar Fazal said Qing Ming, Ramadan and Holy Week showcased the interesting cultural and religious diversity of Malaysia.

“Ramadan is a time to reflect, reset and focus on being grateful.

“The Holy Week celebrates love, faith and hope.

“Qing Ming is an event where people thank their ancestors for their sacrifices and care.

“It reminds us not to forget them, through food and the things they love.

“These celebrations are truly a reflection of a caring society in Malaysia,” said Anwar, a civil society activist.

Church of Our Lady of Sorrows liturgy chairman Aaron Lim said Malaysians were blessed to be part of such diversity.

“We should move from practising ‘tolerance’ to acceptance and understand different ways of life by better appreciating these festivities,” he said.

Lim said the church would conduct Mass sessions and programmes throughout the Holy Week, from Palm Sunday tomorrow to Easter Sunday on April 17.

Malaysian Buddhist Association secretary-general Ven Ji Zun said some devotees would fast for six days and avoid consumption of meat during Qing Ming, which is traditionally marked to honour the departed.

“During this period, they will also have to do good and be forgiving to others,” she said.

Qing Ming, also known as Tomb-sweeping Day, is when Chinese families clean grave sites to commemorate their ancestors and honour those who have passed away.

The festival’s peak season is between March 19 and April 17, with more people expected to head to cemeteries and columbariums this month now that Malaysia is in the endemic phase.

Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic (lunar) calendar, from April 2 to May 2, when Muslims are obliged to fast.

The month is significant to Muslims because it was during Ramadan that the al-Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad.

From tomorrow, Christians all over the world celebrate the Holy Week starting with Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, where palms were placed in his path, before his arrest by religious authorities on Holy Thursday and crucifixion on Good Friday.

Holy Week concludes on Easter Sunday on April 17, which marks the Resurrection of Jesus, three days after his crucifixion.

Vaisakhi on April 14 is a traditional festival celebrated by the Sikhs to commemorate the inauguration of the Khalsa (a term used for Sikhs who have been initiated or baptised).

The celebration takes place over a three-day period with the recitation of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at gurdwaras.

The Tamil New Year falls on April 14 while on April 16, Hindus will celebrate Chithirai Pournami dedicated to Chitragupta, a Hindu god who is believed to record humans’ good and bad deeds for Yama, the Hindu god of death and the underworld.

In Penang, there will be a chariot procession from the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Lebuh Queen to Balathandayuthapani Temple (Hilltop Temple) in Jalan Kebun Bunga.

The foreign community in the country will also be celebrating Myanmar’s Thingyan and Thailand’s Songkran on April 13, among others.