Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
National public holidays
In addition to
national public holidays
celebrated throughout Indonesia there are frequent
local
religious festivals
occurring throughout the Muslim, Hindu and Chinese communities.
Each of Bali's twenty thousand temples also has an anniversary celebration once every
wuku
year, or 210 days, local communities host elaborate
marriage
and
cremation
celebrations,
and both islands have their own particular secular holidays.
All major
Muslim festivals
are national holidays. These, based on a lunar calendar, move
backwards against the Western calendar, falling earlier each year. The ninth Muslim month
is
Ramadan
, a month of fasting during daylight hours. It is much more apparent on Muslim
Lombok than on Hindu Bali. Followers of the
Wetu Telu
branch of Islam on Lombok observe
their own three-day festival of
Puasa
rather than the full month. Many Muslim restaurants,
although not tourist establishments, shut down during the day so it can be hard to get a meal
in central and eastern parts of Lombok where you should not eat, drink or smoke in public
at this time. However, in all other areas of Lombok you'll find Ramadan much less apparent.
Idul Fitri
, also called Hari Raya or Lebaran, the first day of the tenth month of the Muslim
calendar, marks the end of Ramadan and is a national holiday. In fact, many businesses across
Indonesia shut for a week and many hotels on Bali and Lombok get booked out with visitors
from across the archipelago.
NATIONAL PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
January 1
New Year's Day (Tahun Baru).
January/Febuary
Chinese New Year.
February/March
Maulid Nabi Muhammad, birth of the Prophet.
March/April
Balinese New Year (Nyepi).
March/April
Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
April/May
Waisak Day, anniversary of the birth, death and enlightenment of Buddha.
May/June
Ascension of Jesus Christ (Isa Almasih).
May/June
Al Miraj, Ascension Day.
July/August
Idul Fitri, celebration of the end of Ramadan.
August 17
Independence Day (Hari Proklamasi Kemerdekaan).
November
Muharram, Muslim New Year.
November/December
Idul Adha, the Muslim day of sacrifice.
December 25
Christmas Day.
