Lighting the way to 1Malaysia festive joy

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THE inaugural 1Malaysia Lantern Festival at Central Market in Kuala Lumpur did not only offer an insight into the Mid-Autumn Festival, it also provided a glimpse into the diversity of Malaysian culture.

As thousands of excited festival-goers thronged the Central Market on Saturday night, the foreigners learnt that festivals in Malaysia are celebrated together by people of different races.

All together now: True 1Malaysia spirit at the Lantern Festival with children of different races celebrating the festival together

Not only that; the cultural performances were also given an interesting twist to showcase the heritage of all, such as the special drum ensemble that consisted of Chinese, Malay, Indian, Sikh and Borneo traditional musical instruments that charged up the atmosphere before the arrival of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Lanterns, lantern riddles and mooncakes — the must-haves during the Chinese festival that falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month – caught the eyes of the curious tourists.

John Molesworth, 25, and his girlfriend Molly Maine, 24, from England, were eager to find out more about the festival as they checked out the riddles hanging at the bottom of the dainty traditional paper lanterns.

Intriguing: Molesworth (left) and Maine, from England, taking a closer look at a lantern riddle.

“We will bring the stories back to England,” Molesworth promised.

Indonesian Hadi S. and his family had heard about the festival in their local news but had never had the chance to witness the celebration.

“It’s quite lively; definitely some­thing we haven’t seen before,” the 39-year-old from Batam said.

Finnish couple Maarit and Lauri Paananen were among the thousands who gamely joined in the lantern procession that made its way to Petaling Street with Najib, Rosmah and Tourism Minis­ter Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

Their first visit to Malaysia also presented them with the opportunity to see a lion dance troupe in action, leaping on to the high poles to the deafening rhythm of drum-beats and clanging cymbals.

“We found out about the event from a flyer and decided to join in the fun. We even paraded with the lanterns!” Maarit, 42, said.

Meanwhile, the event was a great channel for the local participants to gain a deeper understanding of the Chinese culture.

Labour of love: Jenny Lee, 54, a home tuition teacher from Pudu, joined in the fun with a lantern adorned with a specially-made 1Malaysia logo that she had spent four days making from a Jalur Gemilang, decorating it with shiny sequins.

At the booth set up by Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Zhong Hua Arts and Culture Society, Mohamed Rafi tried his hand at Chinese calligraphy.

Holding a Chinese brush steadily, the Malaysian software engineer, who now resides in California, United States, wrote zhong qiu jie (Mid-Autumn Festival) on a piece of red paper.

“I have always been fascinated by the script and today, I finally got a feel of how to handle a Chinese brush,” the 42-year-old said.

In his speech, Najib announced that the event, organised by the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Council, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Central Market Sdn Bhd and 100 non-government organisations, would be an annual event and promoted as one of the country’s tourism products.