Tag: festival

Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival 2025 @ Armenian Park

Armenian Park (in George Town) was transformed into a vibrant lantern wonderland during the Pesta Tanglung Tanjong 2025 Mid-Autumn Festival, with glowing lanterns, floral displays, and colourful arches making it a photogenic hotspot. Visitors flocked to the park with phones ready “selfies” or “wefies”, capturing the festive lights and decorative installations.

The atmosphere combined traditional elements (lanterns, mooncake vibes) with modern street festivity, creating a communal space of warmth, visual delight, and cultural celebration.

Hungry Ghost Festival Walk in George Town

During this year’s Hungry Ghost Month, a local artist called Kopi Soh transformed a pedestrian walkway along a section of Jalan Gurdwara (Gurdwara Road), into a charming “Hungry Ghost Festival Walk,” featuring 10 adorable, comic-style illustrations of wandering spirits and deities, along with bilingual information boards about the festival’s meaning and traditions.

The display—adorned with fairy lights, lanterns, and colorful windmills—invites viewers to step into the festival’s true spirit of compassion, remembrance, and empathy, showing that the rituals aren’t about fear, but about honoring restless souls and helping them find peace. The installation was carried out by the Menara Perdana Phor Tor Society, with blessings from a temple and a medium to ensure the sacred art offered respect, not mischief.

More info can be found here: https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2025/09/01/sharing-the-story-of-compassion-behind-the-hungry-ghost-festival-through-cute-art/189300

 

George Town Heritage Celebrations (5-7 July 2025)

The 17th annual George Town Heritage Celebrations—themed “Doors and Doorways”—ran from 5–7 July 2025, inviting visitors to step into Penang’s hidden past. The event featured immersive storytelling, artisan workshops (from pottery to traditional snacks), heritage-themed performances, and behind-the-scenes access to eight historic Category 1 heritage buildings. Designed to celebrate George Town’s living traditions, the celebration focuses on cultural connections, community engagement, and heritage education. The event is located at the areas around Armenian Street this year.

Thaipusam Festival: Scenes at Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple 

Thaipusam festival scenes at the Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple – Thaipuam is a vibrant Hindu festival celebrated with deep devotion, particularly by the Tamil community.

The temple, dedicated to Goddess Mariamman, becomes a focal point for thousands of devotees who undertake kavadi processions, carrying beautifully decorated offerings as acts of penance and gratitude.

The atmosphere is filled with rhythmic drumbeats, traditional chants, and the sight of devotees piercing their bodies with spears and hooks as part of their spiritual vows. The festival also includes milk offerings, prayers, and a grand chariot procession to the Waterfall Hilltop Temple which was completed yesterday, creating a visually stunning and spiritually uplifting experience.

Chinese New Year in Penang: Miaohui Festival 2025

The Penang Miaohui, a prominent cultural festival, celebrated its 26th anniversary on the 1st of February in George Town, Penang. The event, themed “Penang Lang, Let’s Celebrate,” attracted over 200,000 visitors. Organized by the Penang Chinese Clan Council, the festival featured 23 traditional organizations and 90 cultural associations, offering activities such as traditional cuisine, handicrafts, ancestral stories, and performing arts as well as over 120 local food vendors and more than 50 interactive cultural booths were present, providing a diverse range of experiences for attendees.

Miaohui (庙会), meaning “Temple Fair” in Chinese, is a traditional cultural festival often associated with Chinese New Year celebrations. It features various cultural performances, exhibitions, traditional food, handicrafts, and ancestral heritage activities. In Malaysia, particularly in Penang, the Penang Miaohui is a large-scale annual event showcasing Chinese heritage through interactive booths, performances, and community engagement, attracting thousands of visitors.

2024 Thnee Kong Seh (Jade Emperor’s Birthday Festival)

The various scenes from Penang’s historic Weld Quay featuring the annual celebration honoring the revered Jade Emperor. As devotees and onlookers gathered, the air was filled with the scent of incense and the sounds of fireworks, creating an atmosphere steeped in cultural richness alongside traditional performances at the main stage.

The Jade Emperor’s Birthday Festival, also known as the Heavenly Emperor’s Birthday or Thnee Kong Seh in Hokkien, holds deep cultural and religious significance in Chinese tradition. Originating from Taoist beliefs, the festival celebrates the birthday of the Jade Emperor, one of the most revered figures in Chinese mythology, believed to be the ruler of heaven and earth. The festival’s history traces back centuries to ancient China, where communities would gather to pay homage to the Jade Emperor with elaborate ceremonies, offerings, and prayers for blessings and prosperity. Thnee Kong Seh, is celebrated by the Hokkiens on the ninth day of the Lunar New Year.

Thaipusam 2024 in Penang

Thaipusam scenes at the compound nearby Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple in George Town, Penang.

Thaipusam in Penang paints a vivid tapestry of religious devotion and cultural spectacle. Celebrated annually in late January or early February, this Hindu festival honors Lord Murugan with a mesmerizing procession from Georgetown to the sacred Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple atop the Waterfalls hill area.

The highlight is the iconic Silver Chariot, adorned with devotees carrying ornate kavadis, creating a symphony of traditional music and rhythmic drumbeats. The atmosphere is electric as devotees showcase their unwavering faith through acts of penance, including body piercings and elaborate decorations (also known as Kavadi bearer). Thaipusam in Penang is not only a religious event but a testament to the island’s cultural richness and the harmonious coexistence of diverse communities, offering a must-see experience for locals and tourists alike.

2023 Hari Raya Decorations in Penang Shopping Malls

Hari Raya Aidilfitri, also known as Eid al-Fitr, is one of the most celebrated Muslim festivals in Malaysia, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. It is a time for family, feasting, and forgiveness. In Penang, shopping malls play a significant role in bringing people together during the festive season. These malls go above and beyond to transform their premises into a spectacle of light and color to welcome visitors from all walks of life.

One of the most famous shopping malls in Penang is Queensbay Mall, which never fails to impress visitors with its stunning decor. This year’s Hari Raya theme appears to infuse grand and elaborate decorations, which feature a stunning golden color scheme.

Other malls'(Gurney Plaza and Sunway Carnival) decorations can be seen below too:

Decor from previous year: https://travel2penang.org/2022/04/27/hari-raya-decorations-in-penang-shopping-malls/

Thaipusam Festival

During the Thaipusam festival, the breaking of the coconuts is a ritual practiced by Hindus as an act of cleansing and also to symbolize the renounce of one’s ego at the feet of the presiding deity Lord Muruga (usually carried on a chariot). The most notable or intriguing scene from this festival is the kavadi-bearers, devotees who usually had their bodies pierced while undergoing a pilgrimage during the festival.

Penang Weld Quay: Scenes from Jade Emperor’s Birthday Celebration

The celebration for the birthday of the Jade Emperor falls on the 9th lunar day of Chinese New Year and is celebrated mainly by the Chinese Hokkien community in Penang, which is also commonly referred to as the “Hokkien New Year”.

Two popular areas in Penang where this day is celebrated are the Jade Emperor Pavilion temple at Ayer Itam and the Clan Jetties area (such as the pictures below) at Weld Quay, George Town.