Christmas Décor Around the Malls

Each year long before Christmas draws near, the shopping malls are prettily decorated to draw in the crowds in the hope that they will purchase gifts for the season. Christmas songs are also played to add to the festive atmosphere.

I didn’t go round to all the malls as the traffic was very heavy and I didn’t fancy being caught in the traffic snarl. So here are a few photos taken in four different malls.

                                                       Kota Kinabalu Imago

                                          Children in little dinghies in the artificial moat

                                                      Close up of the pretty Christmas trees

                                                               A Railway Engine

                                                           Huge Teddies were the rage

                                                           The Red Telephone Kiosk

                                                          The Gardens Mall                                                   

                                                                  The Gardens Mall

                                                                      The Pavilion

                                                          The Reindeer outside Pavilion

                                                               Gingerbread & Snowman

Bangsar Village

 

                                             Bangsar Village centerpiece made from jerrycans

There are many more photos which I haven't uploaded here but the sight of the pretty decor was very joyful and uplifting. Not many people were buying as they were there mainly to enjoy the lovely decorations, the music and air-conditioning.

Deepavali, the Festival of Lights

Deepavali is around the corner and the buzz has already begun. For the Indian community, there is the excitement of preparing for this event.  Deepavali is the celebration of the good triumphing over evil. 

Apart from buying new garments and preparing delicacies and food for visitors, some will have beautiful kolams outside their front doors. The kolams welcome the Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity.  

The kolams vary in size and are very colourful, drawn using rice flour and rice dyed in various colors.  Some designs can be very intricate.  The shopping malls have large ones.

Rituals are part of the celebration and an oil bath is de riguer. It symbolizes cleansing. The celebrants don new garments and welcome guests who visit their homes and join in the celebrations. There is much good will and bon homie at these open houses (a practice common in Malaysia where friends and friends of friends drop by to enjoy the company and the food).

Oil lamps are lit and placed on the kolams.  You can also find oil lamps in the homes of the Hindu community. The lights from these lamps are a reminder of one’s inner light.  Light is a metaphor for consciousness and knowledge.

Here's wishing my friends Happy Deepavali!

The Legend Behind The Moon Cake

The moon cake is not just a tasty cake eaten during the Moon Cake Festival. There is an inspiring story behind it.

During the Yuan Dynasty (1271- 1368 AD) when China was ruled by the Mongolians, the people found the tyranny of the government unbearable. They plotted to revolt and to end their suffering.

Zhu YuanZhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644 AD) united the different resistance groups to organize the uprising. However, they encountered a problem.

How were they to inform the different groups of the battle plan without being detected by the government forces? It was almost impossible to pass messages. Then the counselor Liu Bowen thought of an idea.

The leaders of the rebellion ordered the people to bake moon cakes and inserted into the cakes was the outline of the attack against the government. These cakes were given to the resistance groups who had been told via the messages in the moon cakes, to rebel on the night of the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month. The Mongolians were not interested in the pastries of their inferior subjects so the message got through to the resistance movement.

The rebellion was a success and the Mongolian rule ended with the overthrow of their government. The Ming Dynasty was established by Zhu and this success was commemorated annually by eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The tradition of eating moon cakes on the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month has lasted through the centuries and the cakes have evolved into different kinds of pastries with various fillings and flavors.