South East Asian Trips

Chinese New Year

This festival is celebrated by the Chinese community and lasts for two full weeks. It begins with a reunion dinner on the eve of the celebration which, traditionally all members of the family attend. Open house is declared and everyone is invited to feast on sumptuous spreads of food and drink. Unmarried youngsters are given "Ang Pow" - gifts of money in little red packets.

Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Hari Raya is a time for celebration after the fasting month of Ramadhan. Prayers are held in the early morning of the first day at every mosque in the country. This day is usually an occasion for a family get-together. The second day is usually an open house day, an invitation for all to visit. Special festive dishes are made, including ketupat (rice cakes), satay (beef and chicken kebabs), rendang (spicy marinated beef) and many others.

His Majesty, the Sultan also opens his doors to the people at the Istana Nurul Iman. This gives the people and visitors a chance to meet His Majesty and other members of the Royal Family, to wish them Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. This is defintely an offer which should not be missed. When visiting, you should dress conservatively.

National Day Celebrations

Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium, 23 February
National Day is celebrated on the 23rd of February, and the nation begins to gear up for this momentous occasion about two months beforehand. School children, civil servants and private sector representatives rehearse for their part in colorful crowd formations and flash card displays. Invariably a sell-out, the event takes place in the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium before 35,000 spectators. Thousands of people watch the live nationwide telecast. His Majesty the Sultan and other members of the Royal Family will be present. In recent years the Ramadhan fasting period has coincided with the National Day celebrations resulting in a more low key affair.

Awal Ramadhan
Brunei,
The month of Ramadhan is a holy month for all Muslims. It is a month of fasting, and Muslims abstain from consuming food and drinks from dawn to dusk for the entire month. Foodstalls selling a variety of local cakes, pastry and fruits are set up at various places. This is the time of year to try many special dishes and local cakes.

Public Holidays

Most of the holidays or festivals in Brunei are religious celebrations. These days are the ones that mark the anniversaries of important dates in the history of the country. Similar to their neighboring countries, dates of most religious festivals are not fixed as they are based on the Islamic calendar. Some of the fixed holidays are as below:

New Year's Day
January 1

National Day
23 February

First Day of Hijrah 1419
28 April

Anniversary of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces
31 May

Prophet Mohammad's Birthday
6 July

Sultan's Birthday
15 July

Christmas Day
25 December

Variable holidays are as follows:

Chinese New Year
January or February

Nuzul Al-Quran
January or February

Hari Raya Aidilfitri
January or February

Isra Dan Mi 'Raj
February

Awal Ramadan (1st day of Ramadan)
March

Anniversary of the Revelation of the Koran
April

Hari Raya Aidilfitri (end of Ramadan)
April

Hari Raya Haji
June

First Day of Hijrah
July

Hari Moulud (Prophet's Birthday)
July or August

Israk Mikraj
November 1st

Day of Ramadan
December