lips of an angel

Waking up to 2009 certainly didn’t feel any different from waking up to 2008. As a friend put it aptly, “Year end, beginning -so what? Those are just labels-the sun still rises and sets like any other day”. 

I agree with that actually, come to think of it now. Then I quipped that the hype of New Year and year end is almost like the commercialized Valentine’s Day overkill. But eventually I admitted that despite this actualization, there will still be suckers like me who will buy the New Year and year end idea. In fact I have come to develop my own theory that if I do not end my current year on a good note, I almost certainly will not begin my following year on a good foot. Sigh, sometimes I can be such a philosophical fool who think out aloud. 

I cannot remember if I did the same last year, but this year, I have decided to browse through the calendar for public holidays and major occasions. Ha, that is something to look forward to I bet. 

To begin on a narcissist note, my birthday will fall on a Friday this year. I suppose I don’t have much preference on the day my birthday should fall on, but it’ll be great if my birthday falls on a public holiday. But no such luck. Anyhow, as long as it doesn’t fall on a Monday, I guess I am fine with it. 

On a chronological overview, Chinese New Year will fall on 26^th and 27^th of January, Monday and Tuesday respectively. Essentially, those who are working only need to apply for 3 days of annual leaves in order to enjoy a week long of festivity goodness. For the ones from other states who are working outside their hometown, they can actually plan to return home for the festivity as early as 23^rd January which falls on a Friday. If you have quite a number of carried forward annual leaves from 2008, you may even opt to take 23^rd January off. Good news for KL urbanites as 1^st February is Federal Territory Day for them, the same goes for those in Putrajaya and Labuan. As a result, there will be replacement holiday on 2^nd February which falls on a Monday since 1^st February falls on a Sunday. Don’t you just love weekend public holidays?

8^th of February is Thaipusam day and it falls on a Sunday. Traditionally, only Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Penang and Selangor are entitled to this holiday, but I recall it was a public holiday for Kuala Lumpur in 2008. Let’s hope for the best. Then we will all get 9^th of February, a Monday as our replacement holiday for the ones working in Kuala Lumpur. Valentine’s Day will fall on a Saturday this year with Friday the 13^th occurring just one day before. 

9^th of March is Maulidur Rasul or Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. So everyone gets a Monday off from work. Just an interesting observation to add, February and March 2009 will share the same dates for the days. For example, 1^st of February and 1^st of March both falls on a Monday. That means the remaining days of both these months will share the same dates. If you had a bad Friday the 13^th in February, brace yourself for another Friday the 13^th one month after, which is in March. If it doesn’t get any better, fret not as you will only have to endure another Friday the 13^th in November. Not too bad for Friday the 13^th statistics, occurring twice in 2 consecutive months in the 1^st quarter, followed by the last and final one in the 3^rd quarter. 

April is a drought month devoid of any public holidays. May Day falls on a Friday which is 1^st of May of course. Isn’t it just your luck to have another public holiday on a Friday? 9^th of May is Wesak Day and without fail, Wesak Day has always been declared on a Saturday, so no luck for you guys to skip off unless you work on Saturdays as well. 

6^th of June, also a Saturday is the Yang Dipertuan Agong’s birthday, again, no luck to stay away from work. July is another month devoid of any public holiday mercy…so you work 22 days straight with weekends in between of course. 

31^st of August provides some solace like the month of May. Independence Day is celebrated on a Monday this time; again, this could stretch your weekend longer and evict a potential Monday blue brewing. Have you ever wondered that the work week becomes somewhat shorter when you begin your work week on a Tuesday instead of Monday?

September will be the month to watch out for the celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Tentatively, the dates are set for 20^th and 21^st of September. They are both Sunday and Monday respectively, which ideally means that you will get Tuesday as a replacement holiday since the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri falls on a Sunday.

Come October, 17^th of October has been set for Deepavali. However, there seem to be a discrepancy between Malaysia’s and Singapore’s Deepavali date. In Malaysia, it falls on the 17^th of October, while in Singapore, it falls on the 15^th of November. At the time of blogging, I am not sure of the discrepancy but I guess it’s too early to tell now. Besides, that is like in the 3^rd quarter of the year… 

Hari Raya Haji is set to fall on 27^th of November, another Friday. This date is still a tentative one I believe. 18^th of December has been declared Awal Muharram while 25^th of December remains the day we all know as Christmas day. New Year’s eve will fall on a Friday, no luck for bonus public holidays for New Year’s day. 

So far the best Christmas and New Year’s day holiday stretch would be the one in 2008 because we also have Awal Muharram celebrated on 29^th of December, a Monday. So the last week of the year was a short working week for everyone. 

I know it’s too soon and too early to look into the calendars and marking the holidays. But I always like to be in the know…at least I can estimate a better holiday plan or take advantage to book my holidays earlier.