Regions across Indonesia have been celebrating Chinese New Year, which this year fell on Jan. 28, with vibrant colors, traditional dances and prayers.
The year 2568 is a Fire Rooster year and Chinese-Indonesians, who colloquially call the New Year “Imlek,” had set up large red candles, red lanterns and provided entertainment for the public.
Public Imlek celebrations were banned by the government between 1968 and 1999 but in 2000 the late President Abdurrahman Wahid revoked the ban. In 2003, President Megawati Soekarnoputri named Imlek a national holiday. Since then, the festivities have been celebrated nationwide. [evi]