Jakarta Ushering in Chinese lunar New Year

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 31, 2003

Jakarta Ushering in Chinese lunar New Year

With the Chinese lunar New Year fast approaching, Jakarta is gearing up for some lively festivities.

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With the Chinese lunar New Year fast approaching, Jakarta is gearing up for some lively festivities.

A lot of the giant malls and hotels have organized a string of events, including the magnificent lion dance and the dragon dance,to celebrate the ancient holiday, or Imlek as it is better known in Indonesia, which falls on a Saturday in 2003.

This year's festival is expected to be quite exuberant especially as it is the first time that the government has declared it a national holiday.

The decision was made after over 30 years of restrictions against Chinese arts and culture were lifted following the downfall of former President Soeharto, who had banned celebration of the Chinese New Year by a Presidential decree in 1967, along with other Chinese traditions.

Under Soeharto's rule, the Chinese community could only celebrate the festival quietly at home or at the Chinese temples across the country, while in the past two years, the Chinese lunarnew year was an optional holiday for everyone.

The capital city has come alive with the joyful Imlek atmosphere. Mal Ciputra Jakarta in West Jakarta will host the barongsai, the lion dance along with performing the epic Tai Chi on Sunday.

The public will also get a chance to have a photo with the barongsai.

In observance of Imlek, Plaza Indonesia in Central Jakarta is giving a special offer with every purchase for nine days starting Saturday.

Fortune tellers will be ready to read visitors' good luck for the coming year in the east corridor of the mall's ground floor onSaturday and Monday, while an exhibition of Chinese paintings alsowill be held from Feb. 14 to 23.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, the Millennium Hotel in Central Jakarta is set to hold a traditional dragon dance before dinner starts at the lobby lounge. Dragon dance and lion dance will also be performed at the Lotus Restaurant at the Jakarta Hilton International hotel on Friday and Saturday.

Ancol Dreamland (Taman Impian) will hold a two-day dance performance at their swimming pool, the Ocean Theme Park and the Dunia Fantasi amusement park on Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, Governor Sutiyoso is scheduled to join the lunar New Year's celebrations at the Hailai in Ancol, North Jakarta, on Wednesday, during an event held by the city's organizing committee.

As part of the Chinese New Year celebration, many will pray to the gods and their ancestors at temples in the hopes of having good luck and a prosperous year ahead.

"More people come to temples on the eve of Imlek because by praying right when the year changes, they believe their prayers will be answered," Salim, an attendant at Toasebio temple, Jl. Kemenangan III, West Jakarta, told pressmen on Wednesday.

Some others, he said, will pray on Feb. 8 as they believe it will bring them more fortune "because the Chinese word for eight, ba, sounds like the word for bloom."

The festivities will reach a climax on Feb. 15, which is popularly known as Cap Go Meh, or the Lantern Festival.

Combining the festivities for Imlek and Cap Go Meh, the Toasebio temple, under the management of the Dharma Jaya Foundation, will stage a parade to celebrate the Chinese, Betawi (native Jakarta), Balinese and Javanese cultures on Sunday, Feb. 16.

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