Balinese enjoy 4 days break
Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
Denpasar was almost deserted on Tuesday, with most people choosing to stay home and relax on an unofficial four-day holiday.
The roads were very quiet, and government offices and most private businesses closed, as did schools and others educational institutions.
The unofficial holiday started on Saturday, when the Balinese celebrated the Hindu festival of Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge. On that day, books were gathered at a special place. An ornate piece of cloth was draped over the books and a special offering was placed on it as a sign of respect and love for the goddess.
"There were no classes last Saturday. Teachers only asked Hindu students to turn up at school to pray at the school's shrine," sixth-grader Putu Ayu Desiani said here on Tuesday.
She said that school would not resume until Thursday because, according to her teacher, Monday was the Hindu festival of Siwa Ratri, Chinese New Year fell on Tuesday and another Hindu festival, Pagerwesi, was on Wednesday.
"So we got four days off, or five consecutive days if you count Sunday. All my friends in different schools also got the same holidays," she told.
Hindus observed the Siwa Ratri festival by holding a vigil on Monday night. It is a popular belief that on that night Lord Siwa, one of the Hindu Trinity, performed his most important meditation, and those who did the same would be blessed and rewarded.
Meanwhile, one of Hindu's most important deities, Lord Mahadewa, was believed to meditate on Pagerwesi day. On that day, Hindus are expected to look into their inner-self, and renew their vow to uphold the teaching of Dharma, the truth.
"Of course, you need a quiet place, and time to observe and to attain a state of meditativeness and contemplativeness. The Balinese consider the workplace and school too busy and noisy to conduct these religious activities. Taking a holiday was a natural solution.
"After all, Bali is the acronym for Banyak Libur (many holidays), isn't it?" cultural observer Nyoman Gede Sugiharta said.
Yet, not all places were quiet and devoid of activity on Tuesday. Several klenteng (Chinese temples) and vihara (Buddhist temples) bustled with the spirit of joy and celebration. Ethnic Chinese started visiting temples early in the morning to celebrate Chinese New Year by praying and making offerings.
"This place is fully packed. There has been a continuous stream of people. I believe things will continue like this until tonight," a worker at Griya Konco Tanah Kilap, Suwung, a temple visited by both Chinese and Balinese, said.