Gong Xi Fa Cai~!
To celebrate this year’s Chinese New Year on 10 February 2024, I’m writing a post about Chinese New Year in Indonesia, which we call ‘Imlek’ or ‘Sincia’. I’ll be writing primarily about the tradition we observe in Indonesia, which might differ from the ones done in China or other parts of the world. Disclaimer: even though I’m a Chinese Indonesian, I’ve never experienced most of the history nor traditions I’ll be writing below (mostly because my father is a bit anti-social with extended family), so my writings will come from secondary or even tertiary sources.
As we have quite a lot of Chinese descendants in Indonesia, considering the Chinese have traded with ancient kingdoms within current Indonesia territory since hundreds of years ago (and of course they copulate with the local people…), this national holiday is celebrated quite festively and sometimes ran longer, even for 15 days until Cap Go Meh (the end of Chinese New Year).
However, Imlek was not always a national holiday in Indonesia. In fact, during the New Order Era in 1968-1999 under second president Suharto, anything resembling Chinese is prohibited, including the use of Chinese names (which made many people adopt/change their original name into an ‘Indonesian’ name) and, of course, the celebration of Imlek. It was not until 2000 when, under fourth president Abdurrahman Wahid (who we usually call Gus Dur), the Chinese Indonesians (or the ‘Tionghoa’ people) regain their freedom and Imlek celebration re-started. Imlek then became a national holiday in 2003 under the direction of our fifth president Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Anyway, I’m not going to deep into history. Let’s go to the traditions.
As a side note, this year is the year of Wood Dragon. Just look up the term and the internet can give you a detailed explanation of what it is exactly and also predictions of your luck this year.
Imlek is characterized with the colour red. Red clothes, red lampions, red decorations, and (mostly) red envelopes called ‘angpau’. Angpau is an envelope given to the younger generation by the elders, usually already married and/or working, in the family. The younger generation will greet their elders by placing the fisted right hand in front of the chest and covering it with the left hand, and saying something like ‘gong xi fa cai’, before receiving angpau. Other than younger generations, unmarried or widowed members of the family sometimes also receive them, though this depends on each family’s tradition. What’s so special about angpau, you ask? Well, similar to the tradition in other eastern communities, these envelopes are filled with new year money.
Examples of angpau
The correct way to give greeting during Imlek
Yes, money, and children from a big family can collect millions of Rupiah just during Imlek. This is why the celebrating families usually went around to the homes of their elder generation, going miles to other cities to hunt for these angpau, whilst the older generations wait at their homes or agreed to gather in the house of their eldest living member to pay their respect to the living and also their ancestors (usually a small shrine to honour the family’s ancestors is placed in the elder’s house). It’s not strange, then, that Imlek celebration often lasts for 2 weeks. Even some schools with a lot of Tionghoa students gave additional vacation days during Imlek because they know that even if the school ran as usual, not many students will come.
Anyway, the houses which receive family members usually serve some snack, such as kue keranjang (nian gao, also called dodol in Indonesia) and kue mangkok (literally means ‘bowl cake’), colourful candies and chocolate (most notably the sour haw flakes candy and the coin-shaped chocolate), and fruits, such as Mandarin oranges and Asian pears.
Kue keranjang
Kue mangkok
Haw flakes candy
Coin-shaped chocolate
For the main dishes, we usually get the ‘good stuff’ such as roasted duck or pork belly. Absolutely never serve congee or soupy rice, as they symbolized bad fortune. Another thing you cannot do during Imlek is clean your house on the first day, as it symbolized chasing/sweeping away good luck and fortune, and wear white or black clothes, as these colours commonly symbolized death in Chinese tradition. The colour yellow or gold, though, is very much accepted during Imlek as it symbolizes, well, richness and wealth.
Then, after 15 days, we celebrate Cap Go Meh, which marks the end of Chinese New Year celebration. For those who observe them, they prayed in the vihara (Buddhist temple) before going on a festive parade and watching the barongsai (lion dance) show. The one thing that characterized Cap Go Meh, at least for me in Java, is the dish called lontong Cap Go Meh. Other than, of course, lontong (which is rice steamed in banana leaves), the dish commonly consists of opor ayam (which is chicken cooked in coconut milk and spices), sayur lodeh (which is, well, a kind of vegetable soup, usually also uses coconut milk), sambal goreng hati (fried chicken liver and potato with sambal), telur pindang (hard-boiled egg boiled in herbs and spices), koya powder (soybean powder, sometimes roasted lightly), sambal, and crackers (usually kerupuk udang).
Lontong Cap Go Meh
In malls and viharas, there are usually celebrations too. Other than playing some Chinese songs such as Gong Xi Gong Xi (which lyric stays in my mind even though I have no idea what they mean), barongsai or the lion dance sometimes liven up the atmosphere.
Barongsai
During the night, many people will also light up sparkles (kembang api) and fireworks (petasan), so the days from Imlek to Cap Go Meh is usually very festive (and loud…).
Kembang api
The most common phrases you will likely hear during Imlek includes: 1) Sincia, which is another name for Imlek; 2) Gong xi fa cai, roughly meaning ‘may wealth and fortune follow you’; and 3) Xin nian kuai le, simply meaning ‘happy new year’ in Chinese. I think there are also some more terms people uses, but I’m now familiar with them….
Right, that’s all for now. Hope now you know more about how Chinese Indonesians celebrate the Imlek New Year.
Enjoy your holiday and don’t forget to use your vote in the coming election (if you’re an Indonesian, at the very least)
See you~
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