Merdeka & Malaysia: How do we celebrate two days?

Truth be told, I don’t quite know how to celebrate our National Day anymore. Do I celebrate it full force on Merdeka on August 31st?

Or do I wait to unleash the sappiness on Malaysia Day on September 16th? Why do I cringe (just a little) when people say ‘Happy Birthday Malaysia’ on August 31st, because that’s technically wrong?

If I do cringe (just a little) when people do that, then why do I cringe (just a little) when those from Sabah and Sarawak slightly dismiss August 31st ?

One could definitely understand the cold shoulder. It’s easy to forget that Malaysia Day, the day Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaya in 1963, was only made a public holiday in 2010. That’s a staggering 47-year-old ‘Oops’ that Malaysians are still getting used to.

That’s almost half-a-century’s worth of us having a birthday party and making our brother and sister blow out the candles with us two weeks in advance because it’s ‘Aiyah, same same lah’.

While we are still getting used to things, do we still celebrate Merdeka the way we did in the past? If you ever did, that is, do the whole flag-waving, ‘this-country-infuriates-me-but-I’m-mad-for-it’ celebration of all things Malaysian. It is, after all, the day we gained independence from the British. Boleh kah?

We aren’t exactly alone in national day or independence day quirks.

Most countries in the world celebrate their independence day when they ceased to be under colonial rule. But not all of them just have one day. Some celebrate two, like the Dominican Republic, which celebrates February 27th for when they were no longer occupied by Haiti, and ‘Restoration Day’ on August 16th, when they gained independence from Spain.

The Greeks celebrate their independence on March 25th, which commemorates the start of the War of Greek Independence in 1821. But they also extremely proud of Ochi Day (‘No!’ Day), which is celebrated with flags and the works every October 28th. It is the day they remember Greece’s response when Italy requested, basically, for a free passage to invade the country in 1940. It was either that, or war, the ultimatum stated.

General Ioannis Metaxas, their leader, gave a simple reply, a reply one can guess by the name of the day.

What about a country that celebrates three special national/independence days? South Koreans celebrate Gwangbokjeol on August 15th (Independence from Japan in 1945), Gaecheonjeol on October 3rd (the founding of ancient Korea) and the March 1st Movement (Declaration of Independence of modern Korea).

There are many other examples, and other interesting variations or peculiarities to national days.

There are the Canadians, who celebrate their independence from the British on July 1. But Quebec, the French-speaking Canadian province, does not really celebrate the day like the rest of the country, they celebrate their own St Jean Baptiste Day on June 24th with greater gusto.

Some other countries just celebrate the signing of their constitutions, such as Denmark (June 5th) and Norway (May 17th).

And the most obvious curious fact? England doesn’t have a national day. It doesn’t take a genius to understand why they don’t have an independence day, but they also do not have a public holiday where they celebrate Britain per se. Now you know why the Brits go all out for their Queen’s Jubilee celebrations – it is the closest thing they have to a day they can wave their flag and celebrate all things British.

Against that backdrop, it’s rather nice that Malaysia has two meaningful days to celebrate its formation, if you think about it. It may also prove to be a wonderful thing that these two days are just about two weeks apart – an apt opportunity for some inspired commemorative events. After all, if Scotland can celebrate the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, an arts festival, for nearly a full month, it makes you think of what is possible if Malaysia puts its collective thinking cap on.

It would be nice to get some inspirational leadership and direction as to how we may distinguish the two as equally important, but significantly different days.

Ultimately though, it will be up to Malaysians to decide in the coming years and decades how we can consciously celebrate these two days in a creative, inclusive and poetic manner.

Happy Merdeka Day, and see you again on Malaysia Day.