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TheStar Online (October 16, 2009)

THE Festival of Lights, or Deepavali, is a religious festival celebrated with great significance among Tamils of Hindu faith in Malaysia.

Members from the smaller segments of the Indian community like the Malayalees and Telugus of Hindu faith tend to celebrate Deepavali on a more modest scale.

At her home in Kajang, Chandriga Nair, 57, recalled how her late grandmother prepared the family altar for ancestral worship on the morning of Deepavali.

Have a bite: Lovely Sweets worker Laiq Ahmed Shafiq Ahmed showing the choices of traditional Indians sweets at the shop.

“We’ll have our oil baths, seek blessings from our elders, head to the temple and return for breakfast. The rest of the day is usually spent entertaining guests,” said Chandriga, who is Malayalee.

“My ancestors back in Kerala, India, didn’t celebrate Deepavali but Malayalees here, as Malaysians, welcome the idea of open houses. Basically, Onam and Vishu are the two important Malayalee festivals,” she added.

This Deepavali will be memorable for Chandriga as her daughter Anusya, 30, recently gave birth to a baby boy. Friends and family members are expected to converge in Kajang for the joyous occasion.

Sikhs who roots are from Punjab in India view Deepavali or Diwali, as it is referred to by North Indians, as a cultural event.

On Diwali, Jagdeeshpal Kaur, 32, her husband Charanjit Singh, 33, and daughter Jesrien Kaur, four, will return to her mother’s home in Klang for a family dinner.

Have some: Anusya, offering her young neighbour Trishadeep Kaur, four, some Indian savouries prepared for Deepavali.

“My mother used to make Indian sweetmeats because the family would gather for the Diwali dinner but these days she orders savouries.

“It is a low-key affair but I look forward to the time spent with my parents, three siblings and nieces,” she added.

For Sikhs, Vaisakhi holds greater significance as it commemorates the birth of the khalsa or the Sikh brotherhood.

The Festival of Lights will also not be complete without its essential sweets.

Among the popular items are ladoo, barfi,gulap and gulab jamun and pure milk sweets.

Lovely Sweets owner Jasmel Kaur, 47, from Johor Baru said the sweets, essential for prayers on Deepavali day, were in demand despite the economic downturn.

“Among the most sought-after is the ladoo. We sell more than 8,000 pieces of it every Deepavali.

“The sweets are important because they are served to guests during the celebration and used in prayers,” she said.

Her customers were from all over Malaysia and Singapore, she added.

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TheStar Online (May 28, 2009)

GEORGE TOWN: Unlike many youngsters who spend much of their time in front of the computer or shopping, the Yeoh siblings have been learning to make chang (dumpling) from their 68-year-old grandmother.

Yeoh Keng Teong, 20, and his sister Ai Feng, 15, both tried the art of making the centuries-old delicacy and found it interesting although “not easy”.

Labour of love: Ng teaching her grandchildren Keng Teong and Ai Feng the way to fold the dumplings at her house.

“It was difficult to tie the dumplings properly,” said Ai Feng, adding that she usually ended up with funny-shaped dumplings instead of the usual pyramid ones.

Keng Teong did not have much patience with the art, saying: “The process is so complicated. I’d rather help by eating when they are done.”

Despite their complaints, their grandmother Ng Sho Ki is determined to pass on her skills to her grandchildren so that they can carry on the tradition of the Dumpling Festival.

She has bequeathed her grandchildren the recipes for the slightly spicy nyonya dumplings and signature oat dumplings where glutinous rice is replaced with oats and coarse rice.

“I did not make as many dumplings this year due to my failing eyesight. Sooner or later, I may not be able to make these dumplings any more and I hope my grandchildren will be able to take over,” she said.

In Johor Baru, nyonya dumplings are selling like hot cakes at Kam Yee Chin’s snacks outlet in Taman Perling.

Although this is the first time Kam has ventured into making nyonya dumplings, she has already received a few hundred orders from her customers since Monday.

The Chinese Dumpling festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar. The festival is celebrated in remembrance of Qu Yuan, a scholar in the kingdom of Chu during the Warring States period.

Spicy favourite: Kam wrapping the nyonya dumplings which sell like hot cakes at her outlet in Taman Perling.

When the Chu capital was taken over by their Qin neighbours, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the river. Afraid that the fish would devour his body, the people threw packets of rice into the river.

Another folklore states that dumplings were thrown to placate a dragon in the river.

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TheStar Online (February 03, 2009)

KUALA LUMPUR: A record-breaking 1.3 million devotees and visitors are expected to pack Batu Caves for the Thaipusam celebration this Sunday.

The figure is an increase from the one million people that attended the celebration last year. The Batu Caves temple committee has been making preparations to cater to the expected massive crowd.

Recently, it spent RM640,000 to improve basic amenities like public toilets and water supply. There will also be more than 600 stalls selling food, drinks, trinkets, clothing and souvenirs.

Security is another aspect being stressed on. More than 1,000 policemen will be stationed at the temple grounds and its surrounding area on that day.

Also for the first time, there will be a 15-minute fireworks display on the eve of Thaipusam. The fireworks would be lighted at midnight, followed by a chariot procession.

Temple committee chairman Datuk T. Nadarajah advised those coming not to wear jewellery or carry big amounts of cash, and to take public transportation to avoid congestion in the area.

In Penang, those wishing to break coconuts for Thaipusam will have to pay a higher price for the essential item.

The price of the Mawar B grade coconut, suitable for devotees to smash as an act of fulfilling vows, has increased by 50% due to poor harvest during the rainy season.

One of the main coconut wholesalers on the island M. Joel Jeyachandran said retailers would sell the coconuts between RM1.70 and RM1.80, especially during Thaipusam.

Last year, the coconut was sold for about RM1. Joel Jeyachandran, whose shop is in Datuk Keramat, said he expected the price to increase after June, as one of the four main coconut plantations would be converted into an oil-palm estate.

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TheStar Online (February 03, 2009)

The Hokkien community in the Klang Valley, for example, were busy making preparations yesterday to celebrate the Jade Emperor’s birthday, which falls today, the ninth day of this lunar new year.

The sugarcane, of course, is among the food items bought as prayer offerings.

The proprietor of Teoh Seng Kuen Fruits Trading, who did not want to be identified, said her shop did not normally sell sugarcane but she brought in some in as added convenience for her regular customers.

The shop at Lebuh Gopeng, Klang, also sells items like thni kuih (sweet cakes) and ang koo (red tortoise buns).

“The most popular purchases are the fruits, as some people need at least five fruit items for their offerings, more so those who pray with vegetarian items,” she said.

“Due to the economic slowdown, I brought in just 150 stalks of sugarcane this year, compared with the more than 200 stalks last year,” she said.

Fruitful offering: A customer at Teoh Seng Kuen Fruits Trading in Klang selecting a pair of pineapples for the celebration.

She added that the sugarcanes were still sold at RM8 for two stalks at her shop, although she knew of traders who had increased their prices to compensate for the smaller stock they sold this year.

Meanwhile, at the SS2 morning market in Petaling Jaya early yesterday, the Hokkiens were seen busy buying the essential items to be offered to the Jade Emperor at midnight.

“Generations ago, the Hokkiens were spared from an extermination by demons and were saved by the Jade Emperor who fought for them as they sought refuge in the sugarcane plantations,” fruits seller Khiew Yoon Chin said.

“The day the Jade Emperor defeated the demons happened to be his birthday, so the Hokkiens offered sugarcane to him to thank him for their salvation,” retiree Khor Tuan Hong chipped in.

Khor and his wife were choosing a pair of sugarcanes from a pile offered at a stall.

“The roots and the leaves must be attached to the stalks, signifying beginning and ending of all matters. We will decorate the stalks with golden paper called huang qian (literally translated as yellow money),” the 65-year-old said.

Khor from Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya never missed the celebration and his five children would return home for the annual occasion together.

“Several friends would join us, too, to enjoy the offerings after the prayers. The sugarcanes, which also carry the connotations of tian tian mi mi (sweet and blissful), will be shared,” he said.

A rice cake seller, who only wished to be known as Lim, also cashed in to the occasion by selling sugarcanes at his stall.

“The stalks are freshly harvested and delivered to us early in the morning from Seremban,” the 53-year-old said.

Lim also offered chopped sugarcanes, which are about 30cm long each.

“The chopped ones are snapped up quicker than the long ones, as it is more convenient to carry around. People now stress more on sincerity than the symbolic ritualistic ways of worship,” he said.

For the Hokkien community, the most important time of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration is the eighth night and ninth day, which is their liberation day.

According to the ancient tradition, hundreds of years ago, people of the Hokkien province in China were under bondage to some demonic forces and didn’t have the opportunity to celebrate the Chinese New Year for years until one year, on the eighth night of the lunar new year, when the Jade Emperor of Heaven came and liberated them.

During the cosmic battle between the Jade Emperor and the demonic forces, the Hokkien hid in the sugarcane plantations.

Following the victory over the demons and their liberation, the Hokkien people came out to celebrate the Chinese New Year for the first time in years.

They wanted to give thanks to the Jade Emperor and also honour him on his birthday on the ninth day of the lunar new year but didn’t have anything to worship with. So, they used sugarcanes as their offering to the Jade Emperor.

From that first worship ceremony, they continued with the tradition of using sugarcanes to thank the Jade Emperor on the eighth night of the lunar new year.

This tradition is closely observed by the Hokkiens of Klang, Petaling Jaya, Penang and elsewhere in Malaysia.

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TheStar Online (January 20, 2009)

GEORGE TOWN: It is that time of the year again when the Chinese community “bribes” the Zhao Kun Gong or the Kitchen God with sweet sticky cake – nian gao.

This is because he will be making a trip to heaven and report on households’ activities to the Jade Emperor.

Many families prayed and made offerings yesterday when the Kitchen God made his way back to heaven.

Steeped in tradition: Heng offering nian gao, sweets and oranges to the Kitchen God at her home in Penang Monday.

Homemaker Heng Chin Bee, 48, said her family prayed and offered to the deity sweets, mandarin oranges and nian gao to ensure he gives a good report to the Jade Emperor.

“And in turn, the Jade Emperor will bless the family abundantly,” she said at her home at the Kedah Road housing complex.

Heng said she has taught her children the tradition of sending off the deity.

“It is an old tradition and even though the younger generation is very modern, I make sure they know the history of this important tradition,” she said.

Heng added that they will be receiving the deity back into their home on the fourth day of Chinese New Year.

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