Hari Merdeka!

Today is the national day of Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule in 1957. It is different from Malaysia Day (September 16th, when the formation of Malaysia occurred a few years later). There are flags displayed on many of the buildings downtown and on many people's homes.

Today as we were driving home from Singapore, there were also flags decorating many cars and lots of light posts. At each of the rest areas along the highway, there were food stalls and lots of people.

I'm not exactly sure how they celebrate, but I know there is a big fireworks display at one of the stadiums. I'm anticipating hearing or seeing a few tonight as it gets dark.