Christmas in Indonesia
Christmas in Indonesia, locally known as Natal from the Portuguese word for Christmas, is celebrated with various traditions throughout the country.
Overview
Indonesia has approximately 28 million
In regions with a Christian majority, both Protestants and Catholics celebrate Christmas with ceremonies and local food.
By region
Jakarta
In North Jakarta, Indonesians of Portuguese descent live mainly in
The rabo-rabo tradition consists of playing Kroncong music and dancing together around the village area. Locals will sing and visit each other's relatives. Relatives who are visited must later join the game until a chain of players forms on the streets. The visits will continue until they arrive at the last house in the area.[5]
Papua
In the
Ambon
In
Yogyakarta
In the Yogyakarta area, Christmas celebrations are marked by a wayang kulit adaptation of the Nativity scene. Church Mass is led by the priest who wears traditional Javanese attire (wearing beskap and blankon) and speaks in the local language. Similar to Eid al-Fitr, during Christmas time, people visit friends and family; children may receive money in an envelope from elders.[7][9]
Manado
The pre-Christmas celebrations in Manado start from 1 December when the regional government officers go on the "Christmas Safari" and observe the Mass in a different district every day. As part of tradition, some residents of Manado join a carnival or visit and clean their families' graves. The series of Christmas celebrations will finish in the first week of January with a festival called kunci taon. During this festival, there is a carnival across the region featuring unique costumes.[7][9]
Bali
Most Christian villages in
In Bali, the Christmas tree is made from chicken feathers. This unique tree has been imported to some European countries.[11]
Toraja
- Saritatolamban, shaped like stairs, which represents a prayer and hope for a better life (as the steps which always go up).
- The Sun, which represents the source of life and light.
- Tabang flower, which represents success in the Torajan people's life.[13]
North Sumatra
For the Batak in North Sumatera, Christmas Day is always followed by sacrificing an animal. The local people will save money for months beforehand and buy this animal together. This tradition is called marbinda and shows togetherness and mutual cooperation. The sacrificed animal can be a pig, a buffalo, or an ox, and the meat will be shared to all the people that participate in the purchasing of the animal.[7][14]
National Christmas Celebration
Every year, the
Since that time, the National Christmas Celebration has been held almost every year (and was held as a virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21). Exceptions were in 2004, which was canceled as a condolence for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, in 2018, which was canceled as a condolence for the victims of the 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami, and in 2022, which was also planned to be cancelled before being delayed at the last minute as a condolence for the victims of the 2022 West Java earthquake.[16]Until 2013, National Christmas Celebration was held in Jakarta and the most common used venue was Jakarta Convention Center.[15] Since 2014, the tradition was changed by the then newly-elected President of Indonesia Joko Widodo.[17] This is the list of National Christmas Celebration hosts since 2014:
Year | Host | Province | Date | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Jayapura City[18] |
Papua | 27 December 2014 | For the first time National Christmas Celebration was held outside Jakarta Special Capital Region
|
2015 | Kupang City[19] |
East Nusa Tenggara | 28 December 2015 | |
2016 | Minahasa Regency[20] | North Sulawesi | 27 December 2016 | For the first time National Christmas Celebration was held in a regency
|
2017 | Pontianak City[21] |
West Kalimantan | 28 December 2017 | For the first time outside the capital of Indonesia, National Christmas Celebration will be held in a province and a city whose majority of population are not Christians |
2019 | Bogor[22] | West Java | 27 December 2019 | |
2023 | Surabaya | East Java | 27 December 2023 |
See also
References
- ^ (in Indonesian) Sensus Penduduk 2010:Penduduk Indonesia Menurut Wilayah dan Agama yang Dianut, Badan Pusat Statistik. Accessed by 15 December 2014.
- ^ Christmas celebration, the Indonesian way, ID Nugroho & Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta. 30 December 2009. Diakses pada 15 December 2014.
- ^ Christmas in Indonesia, whychristmas.com. Diakses pada 15 December 2014.
- ^ "10 Tradisi Perayaan Natal Di Indonesia." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Dec. 2022, travel.kompas.com/read/2022/12/18/200800227/10-tradisi-perayaan-natal-di-indonesia-bernyanyi-keliling-kampung?page=all.
- ^ "Jakarta Christians Uphold Portuguese Christmas Tradition." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Dec. 2016, www.ucanews.com/news/jakarta-christians-uphold-portuguese-christmas-tradition/77942.
- ^ Sukacita Natal di Nabire Archived 16 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, HidupKatolik.com – 23 December 2012. Accessed by 15 December 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Unique Indonesian Traditions for Celebrating Christmas, Tempo.co – Rina Atmasari. 25 December 2013. Diakses pada 15 December 2014.
- ^ (in Indonesian) Warga Negeri Naku Gelar Adat Cuci Negeri Archived 16 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, AntaraNews.com. Diakses pada 16 December 2014.
- ^ a b c (in Indonesian) Tradisi Natal di Indonesia Archived 20 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Muna Zakiah: KebudayaanIndonesia.net – 20 December 2013. Diakses pada 16 December 2014.
- ^ Balinese Christians: In Search of Tradition, Benito Lopulalan in Bali Today: Modernity by Jean Couteau et al. Page 111-115. 2005. Jakarta: KPG (Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia). Diakses pada 16 December 2014.
- ^ (in Indonesian) Uniknya Pohon Natal dari Bulu Ayam Archived 15 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Ely – Ciputra Entrepreneurship. 19 December 2011. Diakses pada 15 December 2014.
- ^ Tana Toraja Festival held on Dec. 25 to boost tourism Archived 16 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, The Jakarta Post. 22 December 2011. Diakses pada 16 December 2014.
- ^ (in Indonesian) "Lettoan" Meriahkan "Lovely December" Toraja, Aditia Maruli. AntaraNews.com – 27 December 2009. Diakses pada 16 December 2014.
- ^ (in Indonesian) Rayakan Natal, Masyarakat Batak Juga Sembelih Hewan Archived 16 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, TourismNews.co.id Diakses pada 16 December 2014.
- ^ YouTubeDiakses pada 5 December 2017.
- ^ (in Indonesian) Umat Kristen Prihatin, Perayaan Natal Nasional Dibatalkan. 29 December 2004. Diakses pada 5 December 2017.
- ^ (in Indonesian) Joko Widodo Ungkap Alasan Perayaan Natal Nasional Digelar di Papua. 27 December 2014. Diakses pada 5 December 2017.
- ^ (in Indonesian) Pidato Presiden Joko Widodo Pada Perayaan Natal Bersama Nasional 2014, di Stadion Mandala, Jayapura, Papua, 27 Desember 2014
- ^ (in Indonesian) Ribuan Umat Kristiani Hadiri Perayaan Natal Nasional di Kupang
- ^ (in Indonesian)Warga Minahasa Antusias Hadiri Natal Nasional 2016
- ^ (in Indonesian) Perayaan Natal Nasional 2017 Dipusatkan di Pontianak dan Dihadiri Presiden Joko Widodo
- ^ (in Indonesian)Joko Widodo talks with Christians while attending the 2019 National Christmas Celebration which was held at the Sentul International Convention Center (SICC)
External links
- Media related to Christmas in Indonesia at Wikimedia Commons