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Winter Wonderland
Entry 2 of 18 | show all | print this entry |
One of the more amazing symptoms of Malaysia's rapid westernization is the playing of Christmas music in public places, such as malls and hotel lobbies. This is unnerving for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which that most people here do not celebrate Christmas. The casual observer might also note the lack of snow, or evergreen trees and figgy pudding. Sleighs are not en vogue here; nor are sleighbells. One wonders what the average Malaysian makes of "folks dressed up like Eskimos".
Still, people seem to like it, or at least they don't seem to mind. It is also possible that this is only common here in the Jalan Ampang area, or in the downtown areas frequented by Westerners. But some songs are just absurd in context. I heard one of these today as I walked through Ampang Park, the mall down the road:
Love knows no season;
Love knows no clime
Romance can blossom
At any old time
Here in the open
We're walkin' and hopin'
Together
I mean, I don't mind that people want to listen to Christmas carols, but really, how strange must this seem in a place where the religious police can put an unmarried man and woman in jail for being alone in a room together? More to come on the phenomenon of Malaysian Christmas ...
Now reading: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
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