Ipoh parishes hold interfaith Christmas Carnival

Jan 09, 2020

By JAG
Christmas 2019 will long be remembered for the very successful Interfaith Christmas Carnival held at the Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help (OMPH).

Held on the evening of December 20, the carnival brought the communities of different faiths together to celebrate Christmas in peace, happiness and joy.

A 2000 strong crowd gathered for the event, unlike in previous years when a few hundred came to participate.

Most of the crowd when asked responded that the event was ‘awesome’ as they were impressed with the way the programme was organised.

Parish priest Fr Joseph Stephen CSsR, the driving force behind the Inter-faith group and part of the organising committee, advised the crowd to enjoy the carnival as there were lots of food and entertainment.

“More importantly we want to stress that Malaysia is beginning to experience tension, uneasiness and difficulty in accepting peoples of other races and religions.

“This makes life very difficult and chal lenging not for ourselves but for the future of our children and grandchildren.

“If we can live our lives in this multi-religious and multiracial society with tolerance then we can begin to proclaim an alternate Malaysia where people of all religions can live in peace and harmony without hate or rejecting one’s race or one’s religion for whatever reason.

“So let us use this time well at this carnival. Malaysia is a place for eating. Don’t just eat the food but get to know each other well at the same time.”

This carnival had all the ingredients of a good family event. Entertainment was provided by the choirs from St Michael’s Church, Our Lady of Lourdes Church and Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church. 

Additionally, for the first time, there was participation from the Orang Asli and children’s choirs.

The Orang Asli team were recent winners of the ‘Orang Asli Got Talent’ competition that was organised by the Sacred Heart Church, Kampar.

The programme included a variety of  food stalls, games including battery operated toys and sale of Christmas goodies.

Most of the early crowd made for the dinner tent while others patronised the games and Christmas gift stalls.

Linda Rosovits, who now lives in Germany and was home for the season, said  that the event was lively and multiracial and that it was amazing it was happening on church grounds.

For Peter Bucher the event was fantastic. It was a wonderful sight to behold for it brought out the beauty of Christmas this year.