Happy Halloween!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Canadian Flag Postcard

I have received a Canada's flag posrcard from Emma from Canada as my direct swap. No doubt, it is a Maple Leaf picture, which is my favourite. The newly designed Canadian flag was flown for the first time on 15 February 1965.

I would like to thank Emma for the beautiful flag postcard. Thank you!!! :)

Hari Raya Haji - A Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving

Today is the public holiday of Malaysia. It is the Raya Haji Day, 26/10/2012. Hari Raya Haji, which is celebrated about 2 months after Hari Raya Puasa, marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage season in Mecca. Hari Raya Haji starts off with morning prayers at the mosque and the sacrificial slaughter of cows and goats.

Hari Raya Haji may seem to be a more subdued celebration in Malaysia compared to Hari Raya Puasa but it is still a very important day for Muslims to reaffirm their faith in God and give thanks to the blessings He has showered upon them.

What's the Hajj Pilgrimage About?
All Muslims who are financially and physically able are required to perform the hajj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia during the Hajj season at least once in their lifetime. This is one of the five tenets of Islam. After the completion of the pilgrimage, the men will earn the title 'haji' and the women 'hajjah'. The end of the pilgrimage culminates in Hari Raya Haji - festival of the pilgrimage.

During the week of the Hajj, hundreds upon thousands of pilgrims from all over the world congregate in Mecca to perform a series of rituals such as walking counter-clockwise seven times around the Ka’abah (the cube-shaped structure covered in black cloth which serves as the Muslim prayer direction), kissing the Black Stone in the corner of the Ka’abah, going back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marway, drinking from the Zamzam well, standing in vigil at the plains of Mount Arafar, throwing stones as a symbolic act of Stoning the Devil, shaving their heads, sacrificing an animal and celebrating Hari Raya Haji.

Muslims may also perform these rituals in Mecca on other times of the year. This is known as Umrah or the lesser pilgrimage. Pilgrims who perform the Umrah are still required to perform the Hajj at some point of their lives if they are able to.

Tell Me More About The Sacrificial Slaughter

The sacrificial ritual is performed in nearly every mosque or Muslim community in the country which starts at about 11am till noon. It is done to commemorate Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his beloved son Ismail as an act of obedience to God. At the very last moment, God gave a ram in place of Ismail.

The slaughter, also known as korban, is performed by male volunteers at mosques or Muslim institutions. Cows and occasionally goats are slaughtered as an act of sacrifice. The animals are usually donated by individuals, families and also the state government.

During the sacrifice, certain rites and prayers have to be said and performed to expel toxins from the animal in accordance to the halal laws. To minimise the animal’s sufferings, the slaughter is done quickly and efficiently. A portion of the meat is kept for the family while the rest is distributed to the community and relatives, especially to the poor and needy.

What's The Dress Code If I Want To Visit A Mosque?

For men, wear long pants. For women, wear head scarves and clothes that cover the arms and legs (long-sleeved blouses and pants). No shoes are allowed inside the mosque.

Lastly, I would like to wish all the Muslims to have a Happy Haji Day!!!

Two Old Fun Ladies Postcard from Finland

A lovely postcard with 2 old happy ladies having fun under the tress with a puppy looking at them. I received such postcard from Juho, Finland on yesterday.

In the postcard, Juho tells me that he is a grandpa who has retired for 6 months already. He is relaxing now. He is from Porvoo, a small old town at South Finland.

I like the postcard that he sent to  me as I think it is lovely and funny. Thus I would like to thank Juho for it. Thank you!!! :)

Beautiful Boston Night View

Nyani from Boston, USA has sent me a postcard of the Boston night skyline. It is a beautiful view instead. According to Nyani, she loves the Boston skyline by night.

Well, by looking the postcard, I think nobody would not dislike the night skyline of Boston. In fact, it makes me want to travel to Boston at once! :P Haha! :)

This Boston Night skyline is definitely becomes one of my favourite postcards. Thus, I would like to thank Nyani for sending me such a beautiful postcard. Thank you Nyani!!! :)

Postcard from Okinawa, Japan

I received a postcard from Okinawa, Japan in two days ago. It is from Ginger.

The postcard is show the Shureimon/Shurijo Castle Park, Naha-City, Okinawa. According to Ginger, it is a tori gate at Shuri park. The park is a world heritage site that shows life of the Ryukyu Kingdom. With the 3 typhoons in the past 2 months it is awe inspiring to think of life here hundreds of years ago.

I would like to thank Ginger for the information, and also the card. I like it. Once again, thank you Ginger!!! :)

Open-Minded vs. Old-Fashioned?!

In the past few days, there is news about the couple who have posted their nude and erotic pictures and videos on their blog. This had made an “INTERESTING” topic to many people I guess.

I believe many people were trying to search for those pictures and videos on the internet. Some who have seen them would have make comments around. Of course, this news has many feedbacks. Some people were very agreed to the couple for posting nude pictures and videos on the blog as they presumed it was the private life of the couple or they are open-minded people. They even wrote in the net by supporting them.

However, some people were totally disagreed with the actions of the couple. Firstly it was the nude and erotic pictures and followed by the video, and moreover, posting on the blog as they could be seen by the whole world. They would think wouldn’t the couple feel embarrassing?! Those people would be the elderly people or could it be considered as old-fashioned?!

According to the couple, they did not feel any embarrassing about their blog. In fact, they said it was their private life and the westerners would act such way too. Thus, I guessed different people have different perceptions then.  

I believe this topic would be “hot” for some days more. As some people agreed and given support to them, and some vice versa. How about you? What do you think? Do you agree with the action of the couple? For me, no matter what the couple had done, they are very popular now. I think they had made it by what they wanted.

Lastly, I would like to highlight again, different people have different perception. If you think it is a correct way, others might not agree with you!!! Am I right?!  

Postcard of Towada.Hachimantai National Park, Japan

I received a postcard from Clarissa from Fukushima, Japan yesterday. The postcard shows the beautiful Lake Towada Nenokuchi of the Towada.Hachimantai National Park of Japan. It is a very beautiful view indeed and I like it very much.

 

Clarissa has also written a phrase on the card which I like too. She writes "To send a postcard is a good way to go somewhere without moving any thing but your heart!" I think the phrase is very sweet and I am agree with it too. :)

 

Anyway, I would like to thank Clarissa for writing me such a lovely phrase and postcard. Thank you very much! :)

Macau Panda Postcard from Hong Kong

I received a cute Macau Panda postcard from Vaso, Hong Kong on the weekend. This is my first receipt postcard from Hong Kong. Vaso writes on the card that he is an editor in the newspaper company. The reason he sent me this lovely Panda postcard is that he knew I like panda and he tells me that all the Hong Kong people always say “Fighting” to cheer people up.

Lastly, thank you Vaso for the Panda postcard. It will be on my favourite list though! J

Postcard of a Church of Belarus

Helena from Belarus sent me a postcard. She writes in the card that she lives in a small town called Ostrinot, near the Grodus. The postcard she sent to me is a church in the city Grodus.

This would be one of my collections for the church. Anyway, I would like to thank Helena for such card.

Monarch Butterfly from West Virginia Postcard

 

I received a postcard of West Virginia’s State Butterfly from Bella, USA. The postcard shows the Monarch Butterfly. The Monarch Butterfly was name the official state butterfly when it was adopted by the Senate Concurrent Resolution (#11) in March 1995. Breeding in the northern United States and southern Canada, the adult population migrates to California and Mexico in the winter.

Bella likes animals like this butterfly, therefore she sent me this butterfly postcard and hope I would like it. I would like to thank Bella for the beautiful postcard as it is my first postcard of butterfly that I ever received. I like it. Thus, THANK YOU, BELLA!!! J

Postcard from Lithuania!

 

A Lithuanian postcard I received. It is from Igor. The postcard shows the city of Vilnius with multiple views. There are an Arch-Cathedral of Vilnius, Palace of the Grand Dukes, Monument Uzupis angel and Ausra Gate.  

Igor writes on the postcard that Lithuania is a small European country on the coast of Baltic Sea. There is a very beautiful nature, and also a lot of green forests and nice lakes too.  This makes me want to travel to Lithuania someday! J

Well, I would like to thank Igor for the postcard and also the introductions of the lovely country. Thank you!!! J

The Dutch Royal Family Postcard

 

I have received another Royal Family postcard. But it is not from England, it is from the Netherlands. This Dutch Royal Family postcard is sent by Wilma to me.

 

The card shows the picture of Queen Beatrix and Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands. This card shows the 50 years jubilee of national Ballet of the Netherlands as written by Wilma.

 

I would like to thank Wilma for the royal family postcard. Thank you.

Cute Postcards from Poland

I received 2 lovely postcards from Justyna, Poland. These are the third and forth postcards that I received from her.

According to her, she bought one of these cards from the Museum of Cartoons called Rzeszow. On the card, there were some Polish words and she translated for me. The line means “Greetings from Forest”. I think this card is cute.

TOM TOM Cards

Another cute card she sent to me is from the collection of TOM TOM Cards. It is in black and white. There is also a text on the card and she translated it as “The official registration form. Only you live in my heart.” 

I would like to thank Justyna for these 2 cards and I am happy to have exchanged cards with her. Thank you Justyna! J

My "The Casual Vacancy"

 

I have just bought the new novel of J.K. Rowling (the author of Harry Potter's series) on Monday. The title is "The Casual Vacancy". I saw the comments that this book is meant for the adult rather than the children. Moreover, there are many bad and good comments about such new novel of the author. I guess that is called life huh?! Goods and bads.

 

Anyway, i would start to read "The Casual Vacancy" by this week. The reason I bought this novel is due to the author. Well, I hope she would not let me down on this story!!! :p

Beautiful Seattle Postcard

A beautiful night-view postcard of Seattle, USA from Masil has received by me. According to Masil, Seattle is a lovely city and she wishes that I would have a great summer.

I knew Seattle through a movie called “Sleepless in Seattle” starring by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in many years back. I like such movie very much as it is a comedy romance movie. J

Anyway, I like this Seattle night scene postcard very much as I think it is very beautiful. No doubt, it is on my favourite list! Once again, thanks Masil.