Melaka Festivals celebrate the potpourri of diverse cultures, religions and ethnicities. The popular festivals celebrated in Melaka are as follows:

Chinese New Year

In Melaka around January or February, the Chinese New Year is celebrated amidst fun, frolic and lion dance. Chinese people buy new clothes, jewels and furniture. They cleanse their homes to welcome prosperity and drive away all the misfortunes. Melaka Chinatown area including Jonker Street, Heeren Street, Jalan Bunga Raya and Jalan Hang Lekiu are beautifully decorated for the purpose. Different Chinese restaurants prepare authentic Chinese cuisines especially to celebrate this occasion. A troop of about 50 to 60 lions perform lion dance revving up the New Year ambiance.

Christmas Celebration at Portuguese Square

You must visit the Portuguese Square during Christmas to witness the breathtaking decoration of the entire Portuguese Settlement. Apart from the decoration on streets within the settlement, every house is beautifully bedecked with flowers, lights and colorful papers. The traffic around this area comes to a standstill as almost everybody in the town wants to have a peek of the Christmas celebration here. Aside from the fun-filled ambiance and decoration, varieties of Portuguese delicacies are another reason for people to crowd around here.

Hari Raya Puasa

Hari Raya Puasa, also known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri, is a Muslim festival that takes place after the month of fasting called Ramadan ends. However, the preparation for Hari Raya Puasa starts during Ramadan with Muslims renovating their house, buying new clothes, household items, gifts and utensils to welcome the guests to their house on the day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Muslims in Melaka celebrate the occasion by offering their prayers in mosques and visiting the houses of friends and relatives. Muslim women prepare the cuisines like beef rending, nasi padang and ketupat especially for this occasion. Elders offer gifts and money to children.

Lantern Festival

Lantern festival is a Chinese festival observed on the 15th day of the first lunar month because the full moon can be viewed on the 15th day only. When the full moon is up in the sky, Chinese people decorate their homes with lanterns to pay respect to the full moon. In Melaka, people get together to celebrate the occasion by playing games, holding cultural programs and decorating their houses with lights. Typical of the Lantern festival, Chinese eat a special food called Tangyuan which is a dumpling made of sticky rice flour. The filling inside is prepared with sugar, sesame, walnuts, rose petal, osmanthus flowers, bean and jujube paste. Another kind of Tangyuan is filled with meat and vegetables.