We don't really have any though my husband does like to drag out the Christmas CD's as soon as I'll let him. I've been listening to carols for nearly two weeks now! He's a big kid about Christmas.

One thing I did do when I was young was go to the watchnight service at church on Christmas Eve. It started around 10 pm until 12.30am Christmas Day. It was pretty magical, all the carols beng sung then the countdown till midnight and everyone wishing everyone within handshake distance a Merry Christmas. I've never been able to coax my husband into finding a local one and attending it though but I loved it.

My family don't celebrate Christmas because we're not Christians but we just had a celebration in school earlier. It was our Presentation Day and since the junior students will be graduating to Grade 3, we had a class party as well. One of the parents brought a small christmas tree and I had the opportunity to set it up. It was so fun decorating the tree with colourful ornaments. I got so excited just by doing that alone! Also, we exchanged gifts and we had lots of food to eat! I feel like I'm in the Christmas spirit! It was fun as well as sad because it's already the end of school term and I will miss my wonderful students.

Well, we have 2 semesters. Semester 1 starts from January to June and Semester 2, July to December. Today is our last day of school. We had lunch catered and it was quite a spread! It was our christmas lunch. We'll have a solid 1 month school holiday and we all deserve it!

Back on the topic of holiday traditions, we Muslims, ask for forgiveness from our parents on the first day of our festive month. This also applies to friends and relatives.

Do you practice the same during Christmas?

Usually on the eve of the celebrations, we will be busy preparing food, cakes, sweets, biscuits and various delicacies to be served on the day of Hari Raya; which is our festive month. Delicacies such as ketupat or rice cake and a meat cuisine called rendang are among the most famous cuisines that are served during this day. We also decorate and clean up the house. Colourful lights are being lit up in the house.

 
It is customary for Malays to wear traditional Malay costumes. The dress for men is called baju Melayu while the women's are known as baju kurung and baju kebaya.

 
Muslims will attend Eid prayer in the morning and consecrate together harmoniously while taking the chance to meet and greet each other. Once the prayer is done, it is also common for Muslims to visit the grave of their loved ones. During this visit, they will clean the grave, perform prayers for the deceased. All these are done in hope that their loved ones are blessed by God and they are spared from the punishment in the grave.

 
The rest of the day is spent visiting relatives or serving visitors. Hari Raya is a very joyous day for children for this is the day where adults are extra generous. Children will be given token sums of money from their parents and elders.