Harvest Festival in Malaysia is essentially a thanksgiving dedicated to the rice gods who helped the people grow the food staple again. During this celebration, there are agricultural shows, exhibitions, cultural programs, buffalo races, and other traditional games that are held.

What is Malaysia harvest festival?

Harvest Festival in Malaysia is essentially a thanksgiving dedicated to the rice gods who helped the people grow the food staple again. During this celebration, there are agricultural shows, exhibitions, cultural programs, buffalo races, and other traditional games that are held.

What is the Kadazan festival?

Kadazan-Dusun people. Kaamatan or Pesta Kaamatan is a form of harvest festival celebrated on 30 and 31 of May annually in the state of Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan in Malaysia.

How is Pesta Kaamatan celebrated?

Though a centuries-old festival, its celebrations are quite modern, with a highlight being a beauty pageant known as Unduk Ngadau. There are also dance performances, singing contests and a bodybuilding competition as well as other arts and crafts performances.

Who celebrates harvest festival in Malaysia?

Gawai is more similar to a thanksgiving day to show gratitude for a bountiful harvest and to celebrate unity. The festival is celebrated by the Dayak community in Sarawak and West Kalimantan on 1 June, although celebrations already begin on Gawai Eve, 31 May.

Is the harvest festival a public holiday in Malaysia?

Is Harvest Festival a Public Holiday? Harvest Festival is a public holiday in Labuan and Sabah, where it is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.

Where do they celebrate harvest festival?

One of the most-important traditional holidays in China, Taiwan, and Vietnam is the celebration of the harvest. It is also known as the Moon Festival because it coincides with the full moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month; special delicacies called “mooncakes” are prepared during this time.

What is Gawai festival?

1 June 2022. Frequency. annual. Gawai Dayak is an annual festival celebrated by the Dayak people in Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimantan, Indonesia on 1 and 2 June. It is a public holiday in Sarawak and is both a religious and a social occasion recognised since 1957.

What do you do at harvest festival?

The modern Harvest Festival celebrations include singing hymns, praying, and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food in the festival known as Harvest Festival, Harvest Home, Harvest Thanksgiving or Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving.

What is harvest festival in Sabah?

The Harvest Festival celebrated in Sabah and Labuan on the 30th and 31st of May every year is widely known as Pesta Ka’amatan. Please scroll down to end of page for previous years’ dates. This festival is closely connected to rice cultivation as rice is the main crop in Sabah.

Why is Gawai harvest festival celebrated?

It is a celebration of the Dayak people’s religious and social values and symbolizes unity, aspiration, and hope. The Hari Gawai Festival is an annual celebration by the Dayak people of Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysia. The festival was typically celebrated after the harvest season in April or May.

How does Malaysia celebrate Thanksgiving?

Another country that celebrates Thanksgiving by way of honoring the harvest is Malaysia. They observe the Kaamatan harvest festival, which is celebrated in the state of Sabah in Malaysia.

What countries celebrate Harvest Festival?

Top 10 Harvest Festivals Around the World

  • Thanksgiving, Plimoth Plantation, Massachusetts.
  • Vendimia, Mendoza, Argentina.
  • Rice Harvest, Bali, Indonesia.
  • Chanthaburi Fruit Fair, Chanthaburi, Thailand.
  • Sukkot, Jerusalem, Israel.
  • Blessing of the Sea, Greece.
  • Olivagando, Magione, Italy.
  • Lammas Festival, United Kingdom.

What is Kadazan Festival of Malaysia?

The Kadazan is the harvest festival of Malaysia which is celebrated in the month of May by Sabah every year to thank their favorite Rice God. The local people have given the name of “ Tadau ka’amatan ” to this festival.

How is the harvest festival celebrated in Malaysia?

The Harvest festival celebrated in Malaysia by the Kadazan of Sabah each May with thanksgiving dedicated to the rice gods. Agricultural shows, exhibitions, cultural programs, buffalo races, and other traditional games are held. There is much merrymaking and feasting with rice wine flowing freely throughout the festivities.

Who are the Kadazans of Sabah?

The Kadazans are predominantly agriculturalists, and it can be said that almost all the rice cultivated in Sabah is grown by them. Their most important festival is the Kaamatan or harvest festival, where the spirit of the paddy is honoured after a year’s harvest.

What are some examples of Kadazan beliefs?

There are also jars of rice-wine and dozens of bamboo-stems of coconut blossom juice for those with means, and whatever they can afford for the less well-off. According to Kadazan belief, illness is caused by supernatural beings such as ghosts and devils which dwell in the virgin jungle, in fig-trees and in large boulders.