"Outward-looking" Holiday vs "Inward-looking" Holiday
Consistent with Muslim traditions, Malaysia is again at a three-day weekend, celebrating the second Eid of the year to mark the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael to God (as detailed in the holy books of both Christianity and Islam). Much as the first Eid of the year celebrated not that long ago, the occasion, for the Muslims, marks a time to travel to home villages/towns, get together with family, and have nice meals over nice stories. Many, as in our company, took extended vacations before and after the actual three-day break to have more substantial trips.
For the non-Muslims, on the other hand, the attitude toward the extra day of break is at best described as indifferent. Of course, not a single person would complain about getting an extra day of rest mandated by national law, but the day seem not at all extend beyond just that - an extra day of rest. There are no celebrations, no special events, and no excess shopping spree that are usually associated with getting a religious-themed holiday. If anything, the burden for non-Muslims are slightly increased by the extended absence of the Muslims in the workplace and shops.
In a multicultural country, it is difficult to institute any holiday that has special meaning for one group but not for others. This is a problem not limited to Malaysia or for Muslims. But as a country so insistent on maintaining a culture of tolerance for and even enjoyment of the multi-generational coming together of different ethnicities, Malaysia is doing rather little to promote mutual understanding of culture-specific holidays in ways that allow even those with absolutely no knowledge of a particular holiday can partake in it in some highly conspicuous and memorable way.
Perhaps a cue can be taken from how Halloween has caught on around the world, when it started out as a mere, and rather minor, Christian tradition in rural western Europe. The spread, remarkably, occurred even though it is not a public holiday in most countries (including Christian ones) and unlike many others around the world, have NOT turned blatantly commercial while maintaining a relatively healthy level of materialistic basis. While religious undertones have evidently been watered down, the original religious activities of dressing up, trick-or-treating, and horror stories have been retained.
While it could be said that the expansion of American pop culture influence across the world has assisted the spread of Halloween traditions in random places (with an added effect of making it seem like an American tradition rather than an European one) What really made it catch on is its universally acceptable frivolity. To put simply, Halloween, unlike many other holidays, does not take itself too seriously. Its outward fun-loving nature, with fun events of dressing up, telling scary stories, and asking for candy from strangers can easily cross ethnic, cultural, and religious lines.
What Halloween does, in essence, is to actively seek others to join in its celebrations by dropping its core values (such as that of amicable unity within a community) to straightforward, easy-to-catch-on, but at the same time symbolic and, at a deeper level, meaningful celebration activities. The spread of such celebratory practices have been so extensive and successful that even without official designation as public holiday in practically any country in the world, Halloween has become one of the most recognizable and looked-forward-to festivals in many parts of the world.
In comparison, it is not an exaggeration to call Eid, as well as many other religious holidays of Islamic tradition, as "inward-looking." There are no concerted or even individual efforts to promote their understanding among non-Muslims, to the point that non-Muslims do not know anything about them besides the fact that, well, they are Muslim holidays. The Muslims' unwillingness to encourage non-Muslims to participate has indirectly discouraged the non-Muslims from finding out more about them, and indirectly deprived them of even the slightest opportunity to become interested in Islam.
Many would argue that sacred holidays such as the Eid should not be compared to trivial ones such as Halloween. But in the context of secular domination in the modern globalized world, one holiday, no matter what is its background, significance, or symbolism, is no different to another to most people who are traditionally non-observant of either. Any holiday, government designated or otherwise, should mean much more than a day to laze around at home doing nothing. It would especially be a waste if a public holiday cannot be conveyed to the entire population in even the most basic terms.
For the non-Muslims, on the other hand, the attitude toward the extra day of break is at best described as indifferent. Of course, not a single person would complain about getting an extra day of rest mandated by national law, but the day seem not at all extend beyond just that - an extra day of rest. There are no celebrations, no special events, and no excess shopping spree that are usually associated with getting a religious-themed holiday. If anything, the burden for non-Muslims are slightly increased by the extended absence of the Muslims in the workplace and shops.
In a multicultural country, it is difficult to institute any holiday that has special meaning for one group but not for others. This is a problem not limited to Malaysia or for Muslims. But as a country so insistent on maintaining a culture of tolerance for and even enjoyment of the multi-generational coming together of different ethnicities, Malaysia is doing rather little to promote mutual understanding of culture-specific holidays in ways that allow even those with absolutely no knowledge of a particular holiday can partake in it in some highly conspicuous and memorable way.
Perhaps a cue can be taken from how Halloween has caught on around the world, when it started out as a mere, and rather minor, Christian tradition in rural western Europe. The spread, remarkably, occurred even though it is not a public holiday in most countries (including Christian ones) and unlike many others around the world, have NOT turned blatantly commercial while maintaining a relatively healthy level of materialistic basis. While religious undertones have evidently been watered down, the original religious activities of dressing up, trick-or-treating, and horror stories have been retained.
While it could be said that the expansion of American pop culture influence across the world has assisted the spread of Halloween traditions in random places (with an added effect of making it seem like an American tradition rather than an European one) What really made it catch on is its universally acceptable frivolity. To put simply, Halloween, unlike many other holidays, does not take itself too seriously. Its outward fun-loving nature, with fun events of dressing up, telling scary stories, and asking for candy from strangers can easily cross ethnic, cultural, and religious lines.
What Halloween does, in essence, is to actively seek others to join in its celebrations by dropping its core values (such as that of amicable unity within a community) to straightforward, easy-to-catch-on, but at the same time symbolic and, at a deeper level, meaningful celebration activities. The spread of such celebratory practices have been so extensive and successful that even without official designation as public holiday in practically any country in the world, Halloween has become one of the most recognizable and looked-forward-to festivals in many parts of the world.
In comparison, it is not an exaggeration to call Eid, as well as many other religious holidays of Islamic tradition, as "inward-looking." There are no concerted or even individual efforts to promote their understanding among non-Muslims, to the point that non-Muslims do not know anything about them besides the fact that, well, they are Muslim holidays. The Muslims' unwillingness to encourage non-Muslims to participate has indirectly discouraged the non-Muslims from finding out more about them, and indirectly deprived them of even the slightest opportunity to become interested in Islam.
Many would argue that sacred holidays such as the Eid should not be compared to trivial ones such as Halloween. But in the context of secular domination in the modern globalized world, one holiday, no matter what is its background, significance, or symbolism, is no different to another to most people who are traditionally non-observant of either. Any holiday, government designated or otherwise, should mean much more than a day to laze around at home doing nothing. It would especially be a waste if a public holiday cannot be conveyed to the entire population in even the most basic terms.
Comments
Post a Comment