Halo!
Now that we’ve entered December and Christmas is almost upon us, I’ve decided to make a post about Indonesian national holidays and other important dates/day we celebrate (though without a day-off). The dates of our national holidays are coloured red in our calendar, so oftentimes those holidays are called ‘tanggal merah’, translated literally as ‘red dates’.
We rarely, if any, have consecutive national holidays, though for some holidays, it is pre-dated and followed by a joint holiday or collective leave days called ‘cuti bersama’ and sometimes bleed into the weekend to create a ‘long holiday’ called ‘libur panjang’. However, cuti bersama is not a mandatory holiday, and many private companies treat them as another working day where employees may apply for leave if they want but it will cut down their paid leave portion. Considering the common work day for most Indonesian is Monday to Friday, this creates a situation called ‘hari kejepit’, literally meaning ‘stuck day’, whenever a national holiday falls on a Thursday, with the next day (Friday) called as hari kejepit because the Friday is ‘stuck’ between two off-days.
First, here are our national holidays and their dates in 2023 and 2024 (the ones without a year means they are celebrated at the same date every year).
New Year = Tahun Baru (Masehi) = 1 January
Isra and Mi’raj = Isra Mi’raj Nabi Muhammad SAW = 18 February 2023 = 8 February 2024
Chinese New Year = Tahun Baru Imlek = 22 January 2023 = 10 February 2024
Nyepi (“Day of Silence” or Saka New Year) = Nyepi (Tahun Baru Saka) = 22 March 2023 = 11 March 2024
Good Friday = Wafat Isa Almasih AKA Jumat Agung = 7 April 2023 = 29 March 2024 (always on a Friday)
Easter = Paskah = 9 April 2023 = 31 March 2024 (always on a Sunday)
Eid al-Fitr = Hari Raya Idul Fitri = 22-23 April 2023 = 10-11 April 2024
International Labour Day = Hari Buruh Internasional = 1 May
Ascension of Jesus = Kenaikan Isa Almasih = 18 May 2023 = 9 May 2024
Vesak Day = Hari Raya Waisak = 4 June 2023 = 23 May 2024
Birth of Pancasila = Hari Lahir Pancasila = 1 June
Eid al-Adha = Hari Raya Idul Adha = 29 June 2023 = 17 June 2024
Islamic New Year = Tahun Baru Islam = 19 July 2023 = 7 July 2024
Indonesia Independence Day = Hari Kemerdekaan Republik Indonesia = 17 August
Mawlid = Maulid Nabi Muhammad SAW = 28 September 2023 = 16 September 2024
Christmas = Hari Raya Natal = 25 December
Some of you may notice that some dates are different between 2023 and 2024. This is because some holidays, like the Chinese New Year and Eid Al-Fitr, have different dates every year since they follow the lunar (?) calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar we now used. Those national holidays are also the current national holidays, as in some were not categorized as a national holiday previously (such as the Chinese New Year which became facultative holiday in 2001 before officially becoming a national holiday in 2002 or 2003) and some new national holidays might be added, though it has been a very long time since any changes were made.
Other than those tanggal merah, we also have some important dates when we celebrate something but they do not constitute as a holiday AKA we still have to go to school and work as usual though there might be some festivity, event, or ceremony to commemorate it in some institution. Here are some of those dates:
Kartini Day = Hari Kartini = 21 April
National Education Day = Hari Pendidikan Nasional (Hardiknas) = 2 May
Pramuka Day = Hari Pramuka (Praja Muda Karana) = 14 August
G30S/PKI Commemoration Day = Hari Peringatan G30S/PKI = 30 September
Youth Pledge Day = Hari Sumpah Pemuda = 28 October
Heroes’ Day = Hari Pahlawan = 10 November
Teachers’ Day = Hari Guru = 25 November
Mother’s Day = Hari Ibu = 22 December
And so many more is celebrated to commemorate both international and national events, usually linked to certain issue, institution, religion, or region such as Batik Day, Indonesia Red Cross Day, Ash Wednesday, and Kuningan Day. All of them have a certain history behind them. For example, Kartini Day is a day to commemorate Raden Ajeng Kartini, who was a famous Indonesian activist advocating for women’s right and female education in the 1890’s. Hero Day, on the other hand, is a day to commemorate the Battle of Surabaya (as I’ve mentioned a bit in my post on Indonesia Independence Day).
That’s all for today’s post. I think I’ll post a short history behind Indonesia’s Mother’s Day, and why is it different from the international Mother’s Day.
Ah, lastly, here’s the link of the formal document from Indonesian government about national holidays dates of 2024: SKB 3 Menteri Nomor 855 Tahun 2023, Nomor 3 Tahun 2023, dan Nomor 4 Tahun 2023 (in Bahasa Indonesia)
See you (hopefully) soon~
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