Christmas in Indonesia facts for kids

In Indonesia, Christmas is called Natal. It's a special time with many different traditions. About 28 million Christians live in Indonesia, and they celebrate Christmas in unique ways. In areas where most people are Christian, they have special ceremonies and enjoy local foods. Big cities get festive! Shopping malls are decorated with Christmas trees and Sinterklas, which is like Santa Claus. TV channels show Christmas music concerts. The government also organizes a big national Christmas event each year. Besides main meals, Christmas Day often includes yummy cookies like nastar (pineapple tarts), kastengel, and putri salju (snow princess cookies).

Christmas tree in Mall Taman Anggrek, Jakarta, Indonesia

Christmas Traditions by Region

Papua

In the Papua region, after the Christmas church service, a special cooking event called Barapen is held. This involves grilling pork on hot stones. The stones are heated using wood, and instead of matches, people rub wood together to make fire.

To prepare Barapen, men dig a hole for the hot stones. Women get vegetables ready, like sweet potato, water spinach, fern, cassava, spinach, and papaya. First, hot stones are placed at the bottom of the hole. Then, pork and vegetables are added, covered with more hot stones. This cooks the food for about half a day. Barapen shows thanks, togetherness, sharing, and love as everyone eats together.

Christmas in Papua is marked with Barapen (grilling stone).

Ambon

In Negeri Naku, South Leitimur, Ambon, there's a ceremony called cuci negeri, meaning "cleaning the nation." This event is about purifying people and their surroundings from bad things. It starts with families gathering in a community hall for their own traditional rituals.

Then, the Ambonese people walk to a traditional hall, singing and dancing to the sounds of tifa (a traditional drum). Women carry offerings like betel nuts and a traditional drink called sopi. Another special part of Christmas in Maluku is that on Christmas Eve, ship sirens and church bells ring at the same time.

Yogyakarta

In Yogyakarta, Christmas celebrations include a wayang kulit (shadow puppet) show that tells the story of the birth of Jesus. The church service is led by a priest wearing traditional Javanese clothes, like a beskap and blankon, and speaking the local language.

Just like during Eid al-Fitr, Christmas is a time to visit friends and family. Children often receive money in envelopes from older relatives.

Manado

Christmas celebrations in Manado begin early, on December 1st. Government officials go on a "Christmas Safari," attending church services in different areas each day. Some people in Manado join a carnival or visit and clean their family graves.

The Christmas season ends in the first week of January with a festival called kunci taon. During this festival, there's a carnival across the region where people wear unique costumes.

Bali

Most Christian villages in Bali are in the southern part of the island. For Christmas, these villages decorate their roads with penjor, which are tall, curved poles made from yellow coconut leaves. They represent the Anantaboga dragon. Christmas celebrations here are influenced by Balinese culture.

In Bali, some Christmas trees are uniquely made from chicken feathers. These special trees have even been sent to some European countries.

Penjor as street decorations for Christmas in Bali

Toraja

Torajan people celebrate Christmas with a cultural festival called Lovely December. This festival includes group dancing, a food festival, a cultural parade, bamboo music, and a display of handmade crafts.

The festival ends with fireworks and a Lettoan procession on December 26th. Lettoan is a ritual where pigs are paraded with cultural symbols. These symbols represent three important parts of human life:

• Saritatolamban: Shaped like stairs, it represents prayers and hopes for a better life, always moving upwards.
• The Sun: This symbol represents the source of life and light.
• Tabang flower: This represents success in the lives of the Torajan people.

North Sumatra

For the Batak people in North Sumatra, Christmas Day often includes sacrificing an animal. People save money together for months to buy an animal like a pig, buffalo, or ox. This tradition is called marbinda and shows togetherness and helping each other. The meat is then shared among everyone who helped buy the animal.

Batak Babi panggang, often served as a main dish at Christmas.

National Christmas Celebration

Every year, the Ministry of Religious Affairs organizes the National Christmas Celebration of the Republic of Indonesia. This big event started in 1993. It was suggested by Tiopan Bernhard Silalahi, a government minister at the time, to President Suharto.

Since then, the National Christmas Celebration has been held every year, except for two times. In 2004, it was canceled to show sadness for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. In 2018, it was canceled for the victims of the 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami.

Until 2013, the celebration was always held in Jakarta, often at the Jakarta Convention Center. But since 2014, President Joko Widodo changed this tradition. Now, the celebration is held in different cities across Indonesia.

Here's where the National Christmas Celebration has been held since 2014:

See also

• Christianity in Indonesia