Op-Ed Contributors

Spring Festival through foreigners' eyes

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-12 07:56

In spring, a festive Jakarta

(By Andre Vltchek, an American political analyst, writer and filmmaker working in Indonesia)

Spring Festival is round the corner. Many places in Indonesian cities are decorated with red lanterns, and dragons and lions motifs. Temples and some houses have added a fresh coat of red paint to their roofs and walls.

The Year of the Tiger will soon be welcomed through celebrations in Jakarta's luxury malls, five-star hotels and neighborhoods with Chinese residents. Cultural events have started in some places before the new year. They include traditional dances and music. This year's theme at Taman Anggrek Mall is a "Boat of Fortune" with a huge "junk regatta". The real explosion of colors and sounds will come on Feb 13 and 14. Even street vendors are now preparing for the event by stacking fancy paper trumpets.

It is not unusual to see other ethnic groups mingling with their Chinese friends, admiring red shirts and jackets or tasting traditional dumplings and cakes.

Near Dharma Bhakti temple in Glodok (also known as Jakarta's Chinatown) shopkeeper Julius tells me: "In this neighborhood, some 90 percent inhabitants have Chinese origin. Unfortunately ... only a few can speak Chinese. But as you can see ... I'm selling noodles and other Chinese dishes. And business is booming before Spring Festival."

The impact of Chinese culture can be felt in many aspects of life in Jakarta. Rijanto Adjie, general manager of trading company, says: "In Jakarta, you can see lion and dragon dances performed not only by Chinese but also by native Indonesians. I usually celebrate Spring Festival by visiting my parents and having dinner with them on lunar new year's eve. The next day, younger members of the family are obliged to visit their uncles and aunts, exchanging angpao (hongbao, or red envelopes with money) for children.

There are others like Hengky Senjaya, head of Panasonic in Indonesia, who celebrates Spring Festival in a simple way: "We celebrate Spring Festival in a very quiet way," he says. "We eat, women gossip, men play cards."

Spring Festival adds color, vibrancy and optimism to the streets of Jakarta. No matter how people celebrate the festival, I can feel the happiness based on peace, friendship, understanding and love.