570 lanterns made for 'Imlek'

JAKARTA: Vihara Nimmala (the Boen San Bio temple) on Jl. Pasar Baru, Tangerang, has made 570 lampion (Chinese paper lanterns) to mark Imlek (Chinese New Year), which falls on Tuesday.

Sukyatno Nugroho, who came up with the idea, said that the lanterns would be used to pray every single day, asking for God's blessings and success in the year of the Horse.

The temple, which was founded in 1689, is displaying the lanterns from Feb. 10 until March. The display is also intended to help raise funds to aid flood victims in Tangerang.

The Nimmala temple has two records listed in the Semarang- based Indonesian Record Museum. The records are for a Tian Sin Lo (a bowl for incense) for praying made of 4.8 kilograms of onyx from Poso lake in Central Sulawesi and the temple's 17 gods and goddesses also made of onyx. -- JP