Happy Holidays!

Every year, when I get my new manual diary, I cannot wait to browse through the information section of public holidays declared in various countries of the world. Globalization has dictated that we share so many common, international holidays, perhaps set in place by history and domination of some cultures over others. What are more fascinating are the unique holidays that distinguish specific countries and regions.

It is interesting that what is mostly accepted as the universal New Year’s Day is actually called the Gregorian New Year in the Indian sub-continent. Even Orthodox Christian countries like Greece and Russia, utilizing a separate calendar for religious purposes, join in the 1 January celebrations. The Lunar New Year in east and south-east Asia provides a minimum of two government-recognized holidays, if not more.

It is natural that festive seasons and holidays reflect the requirements of the contemporary majority and dominant ruling groups. Catholic significant days are declared rest days in countries like Brazil, Italy, Ireland and the Philippines. Under Communist rule for almost the past 60 years, China had sanctioned only commemorations of a socialist nature and until recently, tried to suppress five thousand year old cultural festivities. It is interesting and reflective of transformative changes in contemporary China that the Dragon Boat Festival is going to be declared a public holiday. Pockets of immigrant Chinese societies overseas have always privately marked these cultural festivals, holiday or not. Indonesia finally recognized a nation-wide public holiday for the Chinese New Year after the tumultuous riots of 1998.

National Days naturally form the centerpiece of a country’s menu of pride. They may not call it Independence Day, as on the fourth of July in the United States, but come with different names – Freedom Day, Canada Day, Australia Day, Bastille Day and Republic Day. Lesser holidays mirror the country’s political constitution or social hierarchy. Malaysia has a limited holiday for each of its constituent states to honor the birthdays of the various Sultans or Governors. The USA remembers Martin Luther King, veterans and Columbus, while Argentina has a special day reserved for General Jose de San Martin. Belgium has Flemish and French Community Days. Japan officially acknowledges greenery, children and culture on separate days, while South Africa gives pride of place to human rights, women, Africa, youth and a Day of Goodwill.

Which countries have the most holidays? Perhaps they are Brazil and Malaysia, both on the equatorial belt. Countries with the least number in this category tend to be developed Western nations. In the face of increased number of cultural groups residing in each country, are we going to face more demands for more public holidays to reflect demographic changes? Is Canada going to declare Chinese New Year as an official holiday? Singapore has allotted at least a public holiday to mark the major cultural festival of each of its main racial groups and surprisingly still maintains a minimum of annual days off.

Birthdays of admired saints have traditionally provided the rationale for holidays in the Christian world, for example St Stephen, St Catherine and St Patrick. The United Kingdom, Taiwan and Australia have Bank holidays. Some European countries, like Denmark and the Czech Republic, start the merry season earlier by having Christmas Eve off from work. Epiphany is alive and well in Germany, Italy, Austria and Greece. Japan, Korea and Taiwan may have been the first collective greenies, even before tree planting became more fashionable, by having Arbor Day holidays. Wartime sentiment to honor defenders of freedom is also held strong by countries like Belgium (in Armstice Day) and Australia (in Anzac Day).

As we move on to the New Year festivities, what tends to be forgotten are holidays that are no longer sanctioned. Whether these belong to former colonial powers from the 19th and 20th centuries, or limited occasions belonging to dwindling populations of aboriginal natives, public holidays, like history, are written into our social and political fabric through the changes of time, tide and triumph.

KL in Parramatta

A close family friend had organised and shouted a sumptuous dinner last night in a quiet corner of one of Sydney's booming and growing shires, Parramatta. Bordering the now famous Bennelong electoral constituency which recently cost a long standing Australian Prime Minister his seat, Parramatta is the fifth largest growing urban concentration in the Australian economy - after Sydney, Melbourne,Brisbane and Newcastle, and churning a GDP by itself faster than Adelaide,Cairns, Hobart and Darwin.

The day had been dry hot, averaging thirty degrees Celsius and I had been looking forward to some spicy-kick food. A new set-up called Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Cuisine had been established near a primary entrance/exit of the rail station, with a menu that reflects the multi-cultures of the homeland of most of the diners. Cooked by ethnic Chinese, my group of 13 persons could sample the variety of dishes offered, including Penang char koay teow; chicken rendang; bean sprouts stir-fried with salted fish bits;tofu steamed with minced pork; sago dessert soaked in Malacca palm sugar and coconut milk; squid dry curry; whole fish deep fried in sour and hot curry; Hainan styled chicken with flavoured rice; and Chinese-styled spinach.

I could have been in a restaurant in Petaling Jaya or one of the Klang Valley suburbs surrounding the Malaysian capital. The key to Malaysian cuisine is the texture and vitality of the many ingredients and sauces that go into the marination of a dish. The freshness of the curry, or the smoothness of the meat or veg cut in different ways, are important indicators. There is more preparation work, the aroma of the right herbs does help and the mood of the chefs do infuse into the final product served. Having said that, I was very satisfied with two dishes - subtle egggplant and the delicate thin pig slices served with onion and a certain Beijing marinade - at a modest joint, Hangfu, along Parramatta's George Street for lunch the same day. The care and love that went into these two dishes showed throughout.

Back in KL, the waiters and the commercial cooks these days are mostly of Burmese, Bangladesh or Indonesian origin. In Australia, we still get ex or transplanted Chinese-Malaysians running the kitchen and the tables. Food is a passion with my dining companions that evening - whilst eating the food, we talked about food, we compared rival outlets and we analysed the things that went into the dishes served in front of us.

Ridges Street

In the dusk hours, it had a certain charm, especially when the harsh light of direct sunlight had ceased. Walking in the grey blueness of this short road, we felt the peculiar attraction of Ridges Street. It was a quiet enclave and refuge from the hustle and bustle of surrounding roads and suburbs. Here one can find solace in an old but well maintained church or find delight in the hundreds of photos plastered on the walls of a modest old-styled barbershop operated by George who emphasised his Italian heritage.

Dining at one end of Ridges, we dabbled in Armenian-Lebanese cuisine. The place was full with customers on this weekend evening, with tables laid out in small shop lot reminiscent of the European quarter of Istanbul, rather than North Sydney. The clientele was more Anglo-Celtic than in ethnic Arab Punchbowl of multi-racial greater Sydney. The food was thoughtfully prepared at Safi's. Delicate dips made of chilli, walnut and pinenuts or mild eggplant were a good way of familiarising ourselves with the thin-crust traditional bread. Our group of seven persons ended the dinner obviously full and even the hostess remarked that we were doing "really well" for the amount and variety of food we had. Fresh cuts of capsicum, onion and carrot placed in skewers were what we needed to compliment the well marinated lean lamb steaks. The water pitcher was a curiosity, with a short but effective beak and in the overall shape of a gourd.

Unassuming quiet apartment blocks stood at the northern corner of Ridges, reminding me of a cbd street I visited in Melbourne one Christmas Eve. There was an upper floor tennis centre adjoining a multi-storey car park. Partly commercial, partly residential, Ridges Street encapsulated what North Sydney is. It was easy to find parking even on a Saturday night so close to Christmas. Whilst the retail outlets were mostly closed except for the few restaurants, the church was open and the small units had signs of life from its mostly Gen Y occupiers. Sydney's Harbour Bridge was only five minutes away by car and one could walk to the train station downhill in 5 minutes. What a life, to be chic and cool, living in an oasis so near to Australia's largest city - and one with a harbour view at that.