Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 173

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Most of the national public holidays fall
on different dates of the Western calendar
each year, as they are calculated according
to Islamic or local calendars.
January 1 New Year's Day ( Tahun Baru )
Jan/Feb Chinese New Year
Muharam (usually Jan) Islamic New Year
March/April Nyepi , Balinese New Year
March/April Good Friday and Easter Sunday
Maulud Nabi Muhammad (usually March or April)
Anniversary of the birth of Muhammed
May/June Waisak Day. Anniversary of the birth, death
and enlightenment of Buddha
May/June Ascension Day of Jesus
Lailat al Miraj (usually between July and Sept) Ascension
Day of Muhammed
August

Chinese and indigenous communities.
Each of Bali's twenty thousand temples
has an anniversary celebration, for
instance, and other ethnic groups may
host elaborate marriages or funerals,
along with more secular holidays. Many
of these festivals change annually against
the Western calendar .
Erau Festival Tenggarong, Kalimantan. September. A big
display of indigenous Dayak skills and dancing.
Funerals Tanah Toraja, Sulawesi. Mostly May to September.
With buffalo slaughter, bullfights and sisemba kick-boxing
tournaments.
Galungun Bali. Takes place for ten days every 210 days
to celebrate the victory of good over evil.
Kasada Bromo, East Java. Offerings are made to the gods
and thrown into the crater. Held on the fourteenth day of
Kasada, the twelfth month in the Tenggerese calendar
year (Dec).
Krakatau Festival Lampung, Sumatra. October. Five
days of events highlighting Lampung's cultural heritage,
including Tuping Karnaval (Lampung Mask Carnival);
part of the celebration occurs on the island of Anak
Krakatau itself.
Nyepi Throughout Bali. End of March or beginning of
April. The major purification ritual of the year.
Pasola West Sumba. Held four times in February and
March, this festival to balance the upper sphere of the
heavens culminates with a frenetic pitched battle between
two villages of spear-wielding horsemen.

17 Independence Day ( Hari Proklamasi

Kemerdekaan )
Idul Fitri (usually Oct or Nov) The celebration of the
end of Ramadan
Idul Adha (usually between Dec and Jan) Feast of
Sacrifice
December 25 Christmas Day 4

FESTIVALS
In addition to national public holidays,
there are frequent religious festivals
throughout Indonesia's Muslim, Hindu,

Merak

JAKARTA

Krakatau

Carita

Labuan

Bogor

Tangkuban
Prahu (2084m)

Bandung

Ujung
Kulon

N

INDIAN OCEAN

0 100

kilometres