Malaysia is always being seen as the country that has the most number of public holidays. In fact, there are only total 13 days of Malaysia public holiday compared to Thailand which has total of 14 days.
Below are the national public holiday malaysia : –
1 – New Year Day
New Year Day is the first day of the year. It is a public holiday for all states except Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, and Perlis & Terengganu.
2 – Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the major and longest celebration of the Chinese, also known as the “spring festival”. The celebration normally falls between the month of January and February.
3 – Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday
Prophet Muhammad birthday is being celebrated in the month of February. Prophet Muhammad is a respectable icon in the Muslims society. However, some Muslims do not approve of celebrating the birthday, and regard doing so as a religious innovation.
4 – Labor Day
Labor Day also known as Hari Buruh is celebrated every 1st May. This day is celebrated as a day of commemoration and appreciation of labors, workers and the unions.
5 – Wesak Day
Wesak Day or Buddha birthday is normally celebrated in the month of May by the Buddhists. The celebration is meant to bring happiness and joy to the less unfortunate. Also, the devotees are served with vegetarian food in the temple.
6 – Yang di-Pertuan Agong Birthday
Yang di-Pertuan Agong birthday is celebrated on the first Saturday of June. In Malaysia, Yang di-Pertuan Agong refers to King. As part of the celebration, the King honors titles to the outstanding members of the public.
7 – National Day
National Day also known as “Hari Merdeka” or “Independence Day” celebrated annually on August 31st. National Day is the celebration of free from the colonization of the British. As part of the celebration, there will be a parade and performances from various organizations.
8 – Hari Raya Puasa
Hari Raya Puasa is the festival of “Forget and Forgive” celebrated by the Muslims. On the first day, the Muslims will put on new clothes and pray in the mosque as well as visiting the grave of the relatives. Then, there will be “open house” serving all kinds of delicacies to the guests.
9 – Deepavali
Deepavali is the “Festival of Light” celebrated between the month of October and November by the Hindus. As a new start, they perform the oil bathing rituals to wash away sins and bad luck of the past year. This is a National holiday except in Labuan and Sarawak.
10 – Hari Raya Haji
Hari Raya Haji is one of the important celebrations of the Muslims as a remembrance of willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an obedience to God. On this day, domestic animals such as cow or goat will be sacrifice by each family. The meat will divide equally to the family, relatives or friends and the poor.
11 – Awal Muharram
Awal Muharram also known as Ma’al Hijrah marks the beginning of New Year in the Islamic calendar. This is the time where Prophet Muhammad and the Muslims migrated to the city, Madina.
12 – Christmas
Christmas is the birth of Christ, celebrated by the Christians annually on December 25th. On the Christmas Eve, the Christians dress up in their new clothes for the midnight service. On the Christmas day, is time for the family members to gather around? There would be a feast and also gift exchange from friends.
Malaysia public holiday 2018 can be confusing at times some National holidays only applied in certain states and also, the dates of each holiday is not fixed. It might be varying.