O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree . . .

With Christmas Day just ten days away, I'm sharing some pictures of our house, the Christmas tree being the focal point:

We have a few presents waiting under the tree

What would Christmas mean without a reminder of Jesus Christ, whose birth into the world is the entire reason we celebrate CHRISTmas?

And here is the imposter. I feel a bit strange having a picture of Jesus and a Santa Claus advent calendar almost side-by-side. It is nonetheless a lovely advent calendar. Thanks to my mum for sending that over a few Christmases ago!

And here is Mr. Bean. Mr. Bean however, has nothing to do with Christmas - it's just that Lauren decided to hang him on the tree! Makes it interesting :)

Had to snap a picture of my new favourite ornament - the vase!

A flurry of warm lights on the tree. Oh no, the imposter again!

We started off with one Christmas tree . . . 

Then we went for two . . .

We got a little greedy and had three!

If you are not Christian, do you still celebrate the real reason behind CHRISTmas, or is it just another holiday to you?

If you are Christian, does the pull of Santa distract you from the birth and life of Jesus?

4 Days 'Till Christmas

Christmas is suddenly approaching as if from nowhere! Luckily I've done all the Christmas shopping so there will be no more last minute buying of presents! It seems strange to not write a post about the Zenith Hotel nowadays. Zenith Hotel is gearing up for its public opening on Thursday 23rd December, 2010, just another two days, and there is quite a lot of excitement going around as the countdown reaches a culmination.

There is, however, the other small matter of Christmas, a time where Christians the world over, including myself, take time to ponder the birth, life and ministry of Jesus Christ. It's a time of turning our minds to others, of giving of our time and gifts to warm others hearts, make friends and hopefully try to find a little peace!

Here are a few more pictures of our house as we prepare for Christmas:

Lauren's advent calendar from Grandma Horne!

These are attractive candles, but they are cheap and don't work very well at all! Still good for decorative purposes though!

Some home-made Christmas crackers, which can't be found in Kuantan

And here is our new bed-set, with a distinct red Christmas theme, as modelled by myself and my daughter, Lauren!

Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple, Kuantan

The Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple in the heart of Kuantan draws people in for its colours and numberless statues on its roofs. Situated near the fire station a stone's throw from the Darulmakmur Stadium, it is a sight to behold.

Every major religion under the Sun can be found in Malaysia. While we must admit that there are gently simmering hostilities between the religions, it is relatively peaceful and harmonious when compared with other plural society countries. It is not uncommon to find mosques, hindu temples, chinese temples and churches on the same street in Malaysia, and sometimes even lined up beside each other.

My visit to the Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple was a different experience to my previous visits to the PAHANG STATE MOSQUE AND PAHANG BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION and to the SIKH TEMPLE. The Pahang State Mosque is intricately designed with beautiful symmetrical patterns and graceful Arabic calligraphy adorning the walls. The Pahang Buddhist Association combines a temple containing a huge statue of Buddha with beautiful gardens and a lake. The Sikh temple was stunningly simple in design, with lovely carved wooden doors and glittering chandeliers. However, the one thing all these places had in common was reverent silence.

Here is the Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple in Kuantan. Here there were bright colours in abundance. I even engaged in a conversation with an Indian woman who was there to clean the temple. We spoke at length about how I came to be in Kuantan and I was able to share with her my appreciation of the lovely temple we were in, my beliefs about God, a living prophet, and other Christian doctrines, which she received with humility. It was easy to share these things with her. Since we were in a hindu temple I related to her about our Christian temples and a little about the work that goes on there. From the Book of Mormon we read of former Christian missionaries: "and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them."

These curious little black stone statues were the most intriguing part of my visit to the Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple. Unfortunately I didn't get the opportunity to ask a few questions I had in mind to the Indian lady there.

'Sikh' and ye shall find

Sikhism is a relatively small religion in the world compared to the major faiths of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism, especially in Malaysia. However, after a little 'sikhing' I came across the "Gurdwara Sahib Kuantan", which translates as "the house of God" in Punjabi. All Sikhs are well-versed in Punjabi from childhood so that they will be able to read and study the holy scriptures of Sikhism, called the "Guru Granth Sahib."

I entered this Sikh temple and didn't really feel out of place. It was clean and tidy and basic in its layout. It looked rather the same as the Sikh temple I had previously visited in Kuching, over on the island of Borneo. I was first met by these large wooden doors:

Upon entering I saw the familiar sight of the 'langgar' hall where meals are prepared and served.

I searched for any sign of human life, and eventually I poked my nose around a side door and saw a man with a long beard, watching the television with dazzling sunglasses attached to his face! He immediately stopped what he was doing and came to assist me. His English was very limited and my Punjabi is non-existent, so we struggled along with basic English and sign language throughout my brief tour of the Gurdwara Sahib Kuantan.

The prayer room was beautifully simple with nice chandeliers, and it was all bathed in the warm sunlight dashing through the windows. This room is situated on the first floor and I then went to the veranda to gaze at the view.

I found it interesting that the view from the balcony was a direct visualization of the Pahang State Mosque.

I took this lovely picture with the Indian man who was in charge of the Gurdwara Sahib Kuantan. I really can't remember his name; I didn't quite catch it when he first uttered it!

Here are a few views of the Sikh's beautiful Gurdwara Sahib Kuantan: