8 Lively Christmas Traditions in Indonesia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Every 25th of December, Christians all around the globe celebrate the birth of Jesus with Christmas. As the second biggest religion in Indonesia, Christians in the country engage in various high-spirited region-based traditions to celebrate the religious occasion.

Check out eight Christmas traditions in Indonesia below:

1. Kunci Taon in Manado

Christian-majority Manado celebrates Christmas throughout December with one notable tradition of Kunci Taon. This tradition is the closing action of the Christmas celebration in the city, held in the first week of January. During Kunci Taon, communities in Manado will parade around the city with unique costumes. 

Before the Kunci Taon festivities, people would visit their loved one's graves ahead of the New Year and eat together. After, the graves would be polished and sometimes decorated with decorative lighting.

2. Penjor Church in Bali

Christians in Bali often wear black and white traditional clothing to celebrate Christmas. Additionally, Bali churches during the festive celebration would be decorated with bamboo sticks with dried palm tree leaves called Penjor, thus the Christmas tradition in Bali is also known as Penjor Church tradition.

3. Wayang Kulit in Yogyakarta

The people of Yogyakarta celebrate Christmas by showcasing the birth of Jesus through wayang kulit, a traditional form of shadow puppetry from the regency. Pastors would also wear Yogyakarta's traditional costumes such as blangkon and beskap to give a traditional touch to the celebration.

4. Lovely December in Toraja

Lovely December is a cultural festival Toraja's local government holds to celebrate Christmas. The peak event of this festival is a parade called Lettoan on Dec. 26. This festival offers carnivals, art performances, cultural events, culinary and craft exhibitions, and even a buffalo contest.

5. Rabo-rabo in Jakarta

The unique Christmas tradition in Jakarta is called Rabo-rabo, held in Kampung Tugu or Tugu Village, where Portuguese descendants in Jakarta often live. After the holy mass, residents of Tugu Village would visit graves and then festivities began. Rabo-rabo traditions include keroncong music performances, dancing, and visiting friends and families. 

The peak event of Rabo-rabo is called "mandi-mandi", where people gather and paint each other's faces with white powders.

6. Bamboo Cannon in Flores

Bamboo cannons were initially used in Flores to announce the death of someone due to limited transportation choices. Nowadays, bamboo cannons are used to express merriment for the birth of Jesus Christ.

People across the island would install bamboo cannons on Christmas Eve and fire them during Christmas. Fireworks would also decorate the skies of Flores during this celebration.

7. Marbinda in North Sumatra

In North Sumatra, Christmas is celebrated through Marbinda, an animal-sacrificing tradition to maintain togetherness, and warmth, and celebrate the Christmas spirit. 

This tradition still exists within Batak communities in the province. The people would collect money together and enjoy the meat together during Christmas.

8. Barapen in Papua

Barapen is a culinary ritual to celebrate Christmas in Papua. Christians would gather and burn stones to grill porks and other food materials to express gratitude, happiness, and togetherness to welcome the birth of Jesus Christ.

Several places in Papua also decorate their stones with unique ornaments and play 24 hours of music during peak events.

RIZKI DEWI AYU

Editor's Choice: 107.63mn Indonesians to Travel During Christmas and New Year Holidays

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News