A Raya and festive-season content calendar for Malaysian businesses

For many Malaysian businesses, the months from November to March are the busiest of the year. Year-end sales roll straight into Christmas, Chinese New Year, Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri. In 2027 the season is especially tight: Chinese New Year falls on 6 February, Ramadan is expected to begin only a few days later, and Hari Raya Aidilfitri is expected around 10 March.

If you plan festive content week by week, you will be writing Raya posts during your busiest trading days. This guide shows how to put the whole season on one calendar now, so the hard thinking is done before the rush.

Step 1: Mark the anchors

Start with a blank calendar from November to the end of March and mark the dates your customers care about:

• 11.11 and 12.12 online sales
• Christmas (25 December) and the school holidays around it
• New Year and back-to-school in January
• Chinese New Year (6 February 2027), plus the days before it when people shop for reunion dinners and visits
• The start of Ramadan (expected around 8 or 9 February 2027)
• Hari Raya Aidilfitri (expected around 10 March 2027), plus the "balik kampung" travel days before it and the open-house weeks after it
• Your own dates: your shop's anniversary, holiday closures and stock arrivals

Then mark your closure days. Telling customers when you are closed is some of the most useful festive content you can post, and it is often forgotten.

Step 2: Give every festival the same five-beat shape

Most festive campaigns work well with a simple, repeatable structure. For each anchor, plan five beats:

1. Teaser (2 to 3 weeks before): what is coming, such as a new menu, a collection or hampers.
2. Launch (1 to 2 weeks before): the offer or product, with clear details and how to order.
3. Reminder (a few days before): last order dates, delivery cut-offs and opening hours.
4. The day itself: a warm greeting with no hard sell.
5. After: thank-you posts, photos from the day (with permission) and any post-festival offers.

Five beats across four or five festivals is twenty to twenty-five planned posts per platform. That sounds like a lot, but most of them can be written in two or three focused sessions once the shape is clear.

Step 3: Use a week-by-week template

Here is an example season plan for a café or retail shop. Adjust it to your own business and capacity.

The overlap of Chinese New Year and the start of Ramadan in early February 2027 deserves special attention. If your customers celebrate both, give each its own space: avoid squeezing a CNY promotion and a Ramadan greeting into the same post, and space the posts so neither feels like an afterthought.

Step 4: Adapt each beat per platform

The same idea should look different on each platform:

• Facebook: longer captions work, and older customers often check it for opening hours and announcements. Pin your closure-dates post if you can.
• Instagram: carousels for collections and menus, Reels for behind-the-scenes, and Stories for countdowns and last calls.
• TikTok and YouTube Shorts: short, vertical, people-first videos, such as packing hampers, preparing kuih or a quick outfit try-on.
• Google Business Profile: this is where people check your hours before they visit. Post your festive opening hours, events and offers here, and update your holiday hours in your profile too.
• Threads: short updates, polls ("rendang or ketupat first?") and quick replies to questions.

A global composer lets you write the core message once and adjust each version, rather than starting from scratch on every app.

Step 5: Batch, schedule and leave room

Once the plan is set:

1. Batch your content. Shoot photos and videos for several beats in one session, while products and decorations are ready.
2. Write captions in one sitting per festival. Keep tone consistent and check details like prices and dates once.
3. Schedule everything you can. Teasers, launches and reminders can all be queued weeks ahead.
4. Leave gaps on purpose. Festive weeks bring real moments you cannot plan, such as a queue outside the shop or a regular customer's kind words. Leave space for them.
5. Get a second pair of eyes. A wrong date or price during the busiest week of the year costs real money. If you work in a team, use an approval step before festive posts go live.

Respectful festive content

Festivals mean a great deal to the people who celebrate them. A few principles keep your content warm rather than awkward:

• Greetings should be greetings. On the day itself, a sincere "Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir dan batin" or "Gong Xi Fa Cai" works better without a discount code attached.
• Be accurate. Use the correct festival names and greetings, and check spelling. If you are unsure, ask someone who celebrates.
• Mind Ramadan. Many of your customers will be fasting. Food businesses can still promote, but consider timing posts with mouth-watering food around iftar rather than at midday, and be thoughtful in tone.
• Get permission for photos. Ask customers and staff before posting their faces, especially at open houses and family events.
• Do not imply certifications you do not hold. For example, only describe food as halal if it is certified.

Measure for next year

After each festival, spend fifteen minutes in your analytics. Which beat performed best? Which format? Did posts timed around iftar do better than midday ones for your audience? Write three notes and save them with next year's calendar. Next season, you will start from evidence rather than guesswork.

The short version

• Put November to March on one calendar now, with "expected" Islamic dates and slack around them.
• Give each festival five beats: teaser, launch, reminder, the day, after.
• Adapt each beat per platform, and do not forget Google Business Profile for opening hours.
• Batch, schedule and leave room for real moments.
• Keep festive greetings sincere, accurate and respectful.