What's With Festivities Anyway?

For the first time in my 38 years, I didn't hear any Raya songs; seen any Raya decorations; read about some kid blowing off his fingers while attempting to enliven the Raya mood with homemade crackers; or eat any kuih Raya, lemang, ketupat and rendang. Understandably, the last item on the list is the one that I miss most ...

And of course, there is no news on mass exodus from KL to other parts of the country, leaving the capital city a virtual ghost town for a few days. Also, no updates on the death toll due to road accidents during the balik kampung rush. And certainly, there is no info on open houses hosted by VIPs.

To be honest, I didn't even know the past few weeks were Puasa month until my sisters mentioned about fasting in one of our email exchanges. Malaysia might as well have been in Jupiter or something.

I do miss the Raya mood but frankly, Raya the last few years has not been the same as it was when I was a kid. Raya, like other major festivities in Malaysia such as Chinese New Year and Christmas, is a tad too commercialised these days.

I grew up in predominantly rural Malay areas. So there was no shortage of homemade Raya goodies during the festivity. The hospitality, the sense of community (though my family usually seemed like the odd one then), the sparklers and the kids donning their newest baju raya to collect duit raya from door to door, etc. I can still remember these things quite vividly.

I suppose the same can be said of the Chinese New Year in recent years. Well, people still celebrate it. It's just that the mood seems to be disappearing more and more each year, even in small towns like my hometown in Bukit Mertajam. It's not that fun anymore.

However, CNY is still celebrated in a big way in Melbourne, thanks to the big Chinese community here. I'm not sure but it appears that some of the events are held for the benefit of the uninitiated, namely the ang mohs who find this sort of cultural things fascinating.

I guess nothing beats the Raya or CNY moods we had when we were kids all those years ago.

Hungry Ghosts Roaming Around?

I'm not a very "Chinese" Chinese. And living in Australia doesn't help improve that. I don't have a lunar calendar at home so I have no idea what festival is up soon, until I saw some Chinese shops in Box Hill selling mooncakes.

Yes, mooncakes are easily available in Melbourne. Still, something is lacking. The mood is not there. Perhaps it's the absence of lanterns adorning the shops. I haven't seen any in Box Hill, although the population is 90% Chinese.

And if the Mid Autumn Festival is just around the corner, that means it's now the 7th month in the Lunar Calendar - the month when Hell's gate is supposedly open, the month where spirits of the departed roam freely on Earth, the month that you really should watch your back lest some lost soul decides to follow you home.

Now, that spooky feeling is entirely missing here. Why? Probably because I don't see anyone burning hell money or offering food by the roadside to starving, wandering spirits . You know how your hair sometimes stand up and you feel a chill running down your spine as you walk past those offerings at night in the 7th month. Well, not a tiny weeny bit of that feeling here.

Also, I don't have to endure all those advertisements over Astro's Wah Lai Toi on this month's ghoulish offerings. Gosh, I nearly ODed the last time. I bet the cinemas in Malaysia are sending creepy messages to their Chinese audience there too - all in the spirit of making the occasion more, errr, hungry-ghost like.

No such spirit here. Out of sight, out of mind. I'm more convinced than ever that this hungry ghost hoo-haa is all in your head.