Christmas!

since christmas is round the corner, i'll post about the christmas celebration in penang.okay in penang, christmas is not a real big deal, unlike european countries.that's cos we are a muslim country,following the majority.but before you think that christmas dont mean a thing here, please wait for me to explain.though we are a muslim country, but then our government still declare christmas as a public holiday, and christmas is still celebrated!(Amen for that)
we do have our fair share of celebration here.if you so happen to be in penang this time around and need the christmas-sy feel, head over to our malls; gurney plaza and queensbay mall.some of the christmas decor can be quite impressive, however there is still room for improvement.



here's the christmas decor for this year at the main door of one of the malls i mentioned earlier,gurney plaza.




the inverted christmas tree in another mall, queensbay. cool huh?




another tree form queensbay.


if you want to celebrate christmas on a small scale with friends or family and dont know what to do cause ur in a foreign land, i suggest u head to cold storage supermarket in gurney plaza if you need a turkey.they have some nice roasted ones and you can even choose the sauce(or issit the stuffing?) they have turkey,ham,sausages and assorted foodstuff to make your christmas celebration,well more christmasy! hehe. anyway, some churches will have plays/musicals/skits/choir and etc so do look out for them! penang christian centre( under the assemblies of god) and fga nearly has something on yearly.
now they are trying to incorporate christmas open house every year, where food will be served to the public, whilst churches from various denominations gather together to perform skits,sing and dance.this event is really something grand cause churches from ALL denominations, AOG,Catholic,Baptist,Methodist and so on, come together to hold this event, as a form of giving something back to society and they expect 10 000people! wow indeed. usually this event is held in Esplanade (Fort Cornwallis,which is also one of the tourist attraction)

However, if you are a party animal, i suggest you head to the upper penang road( near saint xavier's institution, or to be more specific, near the blue historic mansion a.k.a cheong fatt zi mansion). they have some pretty nice clubs there and usually during occasion like these, there are bound to be some gifts when you enter those pubs, however, some clubs might charge you an entry fee(usually about RM25)

Personally, i would go to the open house at the Esplanade, and maybe attend some of the churches's events..really lets you feel the christmasy mood.
Most of the restaurants/hawkers(street food) will open during christmas cause its not a big a deal here compared to chinese new year or hari raya or deepavali.so dont worry!