Festivals and Events in Indonesia

The biggest national festival in Indonesia is Independence Day, which is celebrated on the 17th of August. It is a huge celebration with a grand parade that takes place in Jakarta before the President.

Apart from universal festivals like the Christian festivals of Easter and Christmas and Muslim festivals like Ramadan (celebrated on the ninth month if the Islamic calendar with Muslims fasting during the day for the entire month) and Id-al-Fitr (follows Ramadan and is a huge celebration that goes on for three days), there are a number of popular regional festivals that are really spectacular to witness.

Amongst these the biggest festivals are Nyepi, Galugan and Waisak Day. Nyepi literally means silence and on this day that marks the Balinese New Year everything in Bali is closed down. On the days preceding Nyepi the people of Bali scrub clean statues on Gods and pray and hold ceremonies to cast away evil spirits.

Galugan is an important Hindu festival in Bali. The festival goes on for ten days and each stage of the festivals has its unique significance. During this festival Hindus express gratitude to their Gods and invite them down to Earth to be a part of the celebrations.

Waisak Day is celebrated in the month of May and it marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. The most spectacular celebration is held at the Buddhist temple complex at Borobudur.