Merry Merry in Malaysia: Light and Bright!!

Last Published Dec 25, 2018

Here is is....so you can see the commercialisation of Jesus's Birthday around the world...

But I must say I enjoy Christmas songs....hope you do too... 

First published on December 11, 2012, here it is again to give a view of Christmas from a  place not really associated with Christmas. I see it as not a cultural spread, but 'imperialism'. Imposing a certain way of life on people.  Good for countries where they do not have Sundays off, but other days. Sunday as a free day is a Christian notion.  In another post, I will write about the interest and rise in religions before Christianity all over the world. Especially the western world.  And as we know, the whole world tries to copy them..ha, ha.....

I used to celebrate this day like any of Hindu holidays with lights, cakes and even trees and decorations.  Sported my own Santa Hat!!  Played Handel's Messiah all day long...But over the years, as I have seen this rigid way of thinking of this religion, where everything is made up....starting from how Jesus is shown to look, and how it works on making people hate their own cultures (Fiji, Botswana, many other African and pacific nation, swear by 'being a christian' while downplaying their own nature friendly religions which would have been naturally eco-friendly. )--my enthusiasm for this holiday has reduced. 

Even then, I send wishes to those who celebrate, and remind them that we are actually celebrating 'light' return of light. Its after winter solstice and the days will be getting longer (the same reason Christmas makes little sense in souther hemisphere.  It is middle eastern faith that mapped its ideas onto pre-existing faiths and forced the rest of the world to borrow it).

Anyway, have a great day, and will try to write one more time before end of the year....

In December of 2006, I decided to visit an old friend and a see a country that I heard so much about.  Malaysia.  I had just converted to travel, as I was trying to maintain my previous religion....Jedi.  Trying to combine the two was not that difficult. Here is the gist of Jedi beliefs.  

Jedi Religious Faith

There is one all powerful force that binds all things in the universe together. The Jedi religion is something innate inside everyone of us, the Jedi Church believes that our sense of morality is innate. So quiet your mind and listen to the force within you!

Well, a traveler sees the differences as superficial.  While enjoying the differences, a good, seasoned traveller starts to notice patterns, in human behaviors, rhymes and reasons for why people choose to do things, and motivations for most of human action can be summed up in few words...often just one... love.  

 In this case I think the love is just of 'celebration'.  All celebrations around the world are celebrated with 'light'.  Be it candles, lamps, electric lights, flickering lights, shimmering lights--but lights.  

Light!!  And I was surprised to see an exuberant celebration of christmas in a Muslim nation.  All the talk of commercialism apart (despite it being credible) there is something about the songs, and lights, and christmas trees that makes our heart sing.

I know we forget that we are celebrating the birth of spirituality (as Jesus), we are supposed to focus on a pure heart, we are supposed to ask ourselves not what presents we get but what are we giving, but may be, may be, music, light and joy are just a beginning --a jumpstart if you will.....or may be setting the mood--to go into that calm place where simplicity and quietness reside.

From my experience we can never get to that quiet without either intense pain or intense joy.  Since most people flee from pain, then intense 'joy' or cheer becomes the goal of every holiday in every country.  But specifically with festivals to do with 'light' such as Christmas, lights are used to create that mood of cheer.  

And a hope that in that we will all unite--in the brightness of ‘light’!!

Here are some pictures from 2006 in Malaysia. 

I was living Fiji then, and so this image of snowflake, something I knew too well from my Pennsylvania Days brought back so many memories!!

Decorated Cheerful Christmas Tree in a mall in Malaysia, 2006. 

Christmas decorations and a dressed up sales woman at a Mall in Malaysia!!, 2006. 

Sometimes we get too political, and sometimes too critical. I know it has its value, I know it is needed, but we must also recognize times, when a celebration is just a celebration, and acknowledge that people around the world recognized that and created something for us to celebrate, change of seasons, darkness of winter and long days of summer...so we will always have a reason to be joyful and grateful....!!

The following videos were all taken in and around the mall.  The center of commercialism and centers of public life in a world, where we remain separated.  In a mall, mostly there is no place for negotiation, no place for argument, prices are fixed, and we must ....oh stop....no critical thinking...enjoy....!!

Jedi Religious Faith