GEORGE TOWN, Feb 17 — With the month of Ramadan coinciding with Chinese New Year this year, the festive season has revived memories of “Kongsi Raya” for Shahril Cheah, who recalls celebrating both occasions together about 30 years ago.

Chinese New Year celebrations are normally a lively affair for Shahril and his wife, Sharidah Talib, with their families coming together for large gatherings.

“When I first got married, Chinese New Year and Hari Raya coincided the following year, and ‘Kongsi Raya’ was celebrated all over the country,” Shahril recalled, adding that this was in the late 1990s.

“It was very busy, but also a fun time,” he added.

He said that back then they would have the Chinese New Year reunion dinner after buka puasa (breaking their fast) before rushing back to prepare for Hari Raya the next day.

“That was some 30 years ago, and we still recall visiting Chinese relatives and friends, interspersed with visiting our Muslim relatives and friends, and attending many Kongsi Raya functions,” he said.

This year, with Chinese New Year falling during Ramadan, Shahril believes they will continue their Chinese New Year celebrations and visits while observing Ramadan by holding their get-togethers at night.

“Our Open House and family get together, for our relatives and friends, will now be after buka puasa, but just for a day or two, as we will be doing our solat tarawih during Ramadan,” he said.

Chinese New Year preparations for the couple usually begin one to two weeks earlier, with spring cleaning, light renovations and last-minute shopping.

“We usually have steamboat for our reunion dinner and since we are a small family — my wife, our two children and two grandchildren — we normally go out to eat at a restaurant,” Shahril said.

On the second or third day of Chinese New Year, a larger family gathering takes place, bringing together Shahril’s two sisters, one brother and extended family members, including Sharidah’s relatives, totalling about 18 people.

He said preparations for Hari Raya, which comes just a month after Chinese New Year, are quite similar, such as cleaning the house, buying new outfits and preparing food and drinks for visiting relatives and friends.

As both Sharidah and Shahril are from Penang, they do not usually need to balik kampung, or return to their hometown, for either celebration.

This year, however, they plan to visit their daughter and her family in Kelantan during the Raya holidays for a balik kampung experience.

“We expect heavy traffic, but we plan to start early and are prepared for a slow drive. The journey through Kulim, Baling, Jeli, Tanah Merah and Bachok offers beautiful rural scenery,” Shahril said.

For the couple, inter-ethnic celebrations have always been a defining part of their family life, particularly through the blending of cultures, traditions and cuisines.

“During Chinese New Year gatherings, my wife will cook, so we enjoy Muslim food and Malay dishes alongside Chinese traditions like steamboat, quan chiang, tee kueh and kueh kapit, as well as mandarin oranges and groundnuts,” he said.

“I think it is a colourful fusion of culture and cuisine, something to be experienced and savoured,” he added.

Keeping it simple

For Siti Zubaidah Mohd Lani and her husband, Abdul Azim Khor Abdullah, the Chinese New Year period is usually centred on family gatherings in Ipoh.

Every year, they would drive to Ipoh at least two to three days earlier to help prepare for the reunion dinner and to celebrate the first two days of Chinese New Year.

“This year, it’s not much different,” Siti Zubaidah said.

“We will still celebrate Chinese New Year first, a few days before Ramadan begins,” she added.

However, the difference this year is that the couple plans to return to Penang earlier than usual to prepare for Ramadan, and if Ramadan falls on the second day of Chinese New Year, they would drive home on the night of the first day.

“We don’t celebrate both Chinese New Year or Hari Raya in a grand manner so our preparations are quite simple for both festivities,” she said, noting that this year feels slightly heavier financially as they prepare angpau for Chinese New Year as well as duit raya for Hari Raya.

This year, they have also decided not to host any Open Houses during Chinese New Year as they will need to focus on Ramadan and solat terawih after buka puasa in the evenings.

“We will still drive down to Ipoh a few days before Chinese New Year this year and we expect the travel time will be smooth as we are driving down against the traffic flow,” she said.

She said they will gather for a reunion dinner with Abdul Azim’s family in Ipoh and also have a meal together on the first day of Chinese New Year.

“During Chinese New Year, there were not many activities planned, usually, we will eat together on the first day. 

“Then everyone does their own activities, the younger ones go to the mall or watch movies, while the others will stay at home and chat,” Siti Zubaidah said.

She said the family will then prepare to balik kampung to Kelantan for Hari Raya, a journey that is usually longer due to heavier traffic during that period.

“Our family looks forward to both celebrations but we are a bit more excited about Hari Raya because it's celebrated in the kampung and we seldom go back to the kampung,” she said.

In line with their simple approach, she said the family typically buys just one or two new outfits for each celebration.

“This year, the only difference is that Ramadan and Chinese New Year are so close, but it’s not a problem for us, we can still enjoy food at night, after buka puasa,” she said.