Penang Bon Odori Celebration

 

Penang Bon Odori Celebration – Bon Odori is a Japanese traditional summer dance celebration where people perform folk dances to show appreciation for family and ancestors as well as to welcome ancestral spirits to earth.

IF you have not experienced the Bon Odori festival before, click here keep follow up the calender of Bon Odori in Penang,  The event will be held at the Esplanade each year. There  will be a fireworks show on that night.

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Thaipusam Penang 2011

Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/Feb). The festival celebrates the birth of Murugan,the youngest son of Shiva and his wife Parvati.

During Thaipusam in Penang, devotees go through a physical endurance of being skewered and pierced on the back and front of their bodies by hooks with miniature urns as an act of penance. Majority of the devotees who go through this act are Indians but Chinese, Sikh and other visitors can also be seen taking part in this act of faith which leaves many devotees and observers alike, spiritually transformed.

Millions of old coconuts smashing and breaking will be taken placed as a form of thanksgiving by Hindu devotees and foreign tourists as the Chariot of Lord Murugan in the streets of Penang.

A pilgrimage procession takes place to bring the statue of Lord Muruga, who represents virtue, youth and power, on a silver chariot led by more then 60 Kavadis adorned with peacock feathers from Little India to the Nattukottai Chettiar Temple atop the hill of Waterfall Road.

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Penang Loi Krathong@Wat Chaiya Mangalaram

Loi Krathong (or Loy Krathong, Thai: ลอยกระทง) is a festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand, certain parts of Laos and Malaysia. Penang is celebrated on the full moon of the 12th Lunar month in which devotees pray to the Water Goddess as well as repent for what they have done.

Loi Krathong is held on the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November. "Loi" means "to float" and a "Krathong" is a raft, about a hand span in diameter, traditionally made from a section of banana tree trunk. A raft has been developed to be made of bread or sometimes made of styrofoam.

The reason for using bread is to protect the environment,since having many rafts in the river can create a huge water pollution problem. Bread will eventually become food for fish and other animals in the river. Even though banana leaves are biodegradable, it takes longer to be degraded than a bread. Therefore, bread is the most environmental friendly choice to make a raft whereas foam is not recommended at all. A raft is decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles, incense sticks etc..

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Penang Chingay Parade

 

Penang Chingay is a unique characteristic events. It is also a traditional Chinese culture which the Chinese society is proud of.

Chingay is originated from China, and the Penang Chinese first performed Chingay in 1919 during deity processions. It is a street art where the performer balances a giant flag that ranges from 25 ft to 32 ft in height and about 60 pounds in weight.

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