It’s Deepavali today, also known as Diwali or the Festival of Lights.
All the decorations have been up for sometime now in all the shopping malls like those in KL, for instance – all the colourful and beautiful kolams and if anybody doesn’t know what they are, do click this link to go to Claire’s blog and see.
Unfortunately, it is not a public holiday in Sarawak and it is probably because there are not so many Malaysians of Indian descent or Indian Malaysians here…and even if there are, they may be Christians and do not celebrate this auspicious occasion. I would not be surprised if many here do not even know what it is all about, other than it being a festival celebrated by Indians. Well, anyone who is interested can read more about it here…
I saw this cartoon in one of the local newspapers yesterday morning…
…and I guess that is quite true of many in the peninsula. Cleffairy, for instance, has been talking about going to her friends’ houses to gorge herself with the food…and I bet many others will be doing the same today. After all, feasting and sharing the joy and cheer with one another have become synonymous with any festive occasion celebrated in our country and reflect the true spirit of being Malaysian.
Actually, I’ve shared this commercial on Facebook but I would like to share it here too with those of you who are not active in that social domain and have not seen it yet…
I’ve been big most of my life and can sympathise with the sentiments of the boy in the video but the message is clear and it obviously goes way beyond just the body shape and size: “Although we are different, we are all special!”
As the lyrics of Ray Steven’s song, “Everything is beautiful”, go, “…We shouldn’t care about the length of his hair or the colour of his skin. Don’t worry about what shows from without but the love that lives within…”
To all my friends and fellow-Malaysians celebrating, “Happy दीपावली,” and to the rest, happy holidays and do enjoy yourselves.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 