IT started off as a routine gesture a decade ago - the lighting up of the Christmas tree by the management of the E&O Hotel here.
And before long, the gesture has become a tradition in Penang and Kedah where many hospitality properties have begun to adopt the lighting up of the tree as a symbolic start to the year -end festivities.
Huge trees are decorated with LED bulbs to enliven the lobbies of hotels, resorts and malls as well as commercial areas here.
Eugene Dass, the general manager of the Star City Hotel in Alor Star said the Christmas festive period is good for tourism, adding that most hotels expect to boost revenue during this period
In Seberang Jaya, the five - star rated Light Hotel also erected a giant tree in the lobby to create a festive feel to the month of December.
In Penang, the E & O Hotel was the earliest to lit up where on Dec 1, its general manager Michael Saxon welcomed guests and corporate clientele to the main lobby for the occasion.
Subsequently, the Berjaya Penang Hotel also lit up their tree and its acting general manager Tan Yew Jin and senior sales and marketing director Amran Taib went one step further.
On behalf of the hotel, the duo also feted some 40 orphaned and financially disadvantaged children to a sumptuous spread of Christmas treats such as turkey and cakes.
The children were from the St Vincent de Paul organisation, the Ru Yi Home, the Seri Cahaya Welfare Home and the state Deaf Association.
Penang Senior Citizens Association president Lawrence Cheah also lauded the hotel for inviting its members to the event.
The Lexis Suites Hotel in Taluk Kumbar also held a buffet lunch for the children of the St Nicholas Home For The Visually Impaired.
In George Town, the newly opened M - Summit 191 Executive Suites also lit up a tree in the presence of its general manager Joachim Chai and managing director Datul Albert Moh.
They also invited a choir to serenade the guests, who consist of representatives from the Happy Rainbow Leaning Centre, SJK © Eng Chuan and SJK © Sum Min.
“It is nice to give back to society,” said Moh.
