Ethnic Chinese free to celebrate Lunar New Year

By Tri Hafiningsih

JAKARTA (JP): Over the last few days, the markets in Glodok, the capital's Chinatown, have been unusually busy. Shoppers of all ages brush shoulders in shops and stalls as they buy decorations and food for the Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan. 24.

But Glodok is no longer the only place in Jakarta where Chinese-Indonesians can shop for the holiday. Major shopping malls across the capital also are selling goods for the celebration.

It was only after Soeharto fell from grace in 1998 after 33 years in power that the ethnic Chinese were given the freedom to celebrate their culture. All aspects of Chinese culture in Indonesia were suppressed under Soeharto in the name of racial harmony, to the point that the ethnic Chinese could not even openly practice their religion.

The fall of the New Order regime has allowed the winds of change to blow, bringing with them greater freedom. Now the ethnic Chinese, a minority often envied for their perceived economic clout, can openly practice their traditions in Indonesia.

Event organizers advertise Chinese New Year festivities freely in the mass media, and put up posters along major streets and in public places. Upscale department stores and shopping centers like Sogo in Central Jakarta and Kelapa Gading Mall in North Jakarta are bright with colorful Chinese ornaments and paper barongsay.

Shopping centers put on barongsay (lion) dances to attract crowds. This Sunday is expected to be an especially busy day at malls, hotels and other public places where parents take their children for Chinese New Year-themed shows.

For 3-year-old Bob, his brothers Eugene and Sebastian, his sister Alice and all 36 members of the Tsjie family, the Lunar New Year is a time of fun, play, family gatherings and food.

Bob, the youngest in the family, and his 15 cousins expect to receive angpau (small red envelopes containing money) from aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents. And the entire family will gather in a family residence in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, for dinner the night before the Chinese New Year.

They still honor some of the traditions of the holiday, like cleaning the house before the new year arrives. For the young children in the family, new clothes, cakes and sweets, and angpau are party of the merry tradition of the holiday and a must for the new year gatherings.

A member of the family, Yuki Tsjie, says they no longer perform many of the rituals and ceremonies of the Chinese New Year, such as praying for God's blessings, since their grandmother died a few years ago. "Now it's nothing more than a family party."

Social celebrations

Historian Onghokham says the Lunar New Year has come to be more about "social celebrations" rather than family rituals, as it was in ancient China.

Maintaining the traditions of the celebration requires extended families, he said.

"For all those rituals and services we need to have at least 50 people. Most of us (Chinese) now only have a small, nuclear family consisting of father, mother and two or three children," he said.

For the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, the tradition of paying a visit to elder relatives, visiting the graves of ancestors and praying have become something of the past, Onghokham said.

"People nowadays think more of the future rather than the past," he said.

The "modern" Chinese see the Lunar New Year as a good opportunity for a social gathering with relatives and colleagues. All the fashion trends, presents, parties, decorations and accessories that come along with the festivities are just the commercialism of the event, he said.

"You buy new clothes for the sake of the fashion, not for the tradition," Onghokham says.

The aggressive promotion of the Lunar New Year in shopping malls and business centers in the capital give credence to the theory that the ethnic Chinese are moving from a traditional to a modern society.

Prophecy

Chinese communities around the world are known for their elaborate prophetic traditions. Each Lunar New Year, believers go to soothsayers for a prediction of what they or their country can expect in the coming year.

According to soothsayer Ong S. Widjaya in Jakarta, Jan. 24 is the beginning of the Year of Golden Snake, which is characterized by uncertainty and unpredictability.

In the Chinese tradition, the snake is an unpredictable animal. A snake is also considered "enigmatic": it can be frightening and disgusting to some people, but others find it cuddly and lovable.

The characteristics of the snake, combined with the nature of gold, he says, reflect a time of hardship and turbulence.

"As a whole, it will be an unpredictable and unstable year. The political tension and the economic crisis will linger," he says in his latest book of prophecies for the Year of the Golden Snake.

Ong, who has written three books on Chinese astrology, predicts more natural disasters like earthquakes and landslides, rioting and ethnic conflicts.

"Some calamities will be worse than those that occurred last year," says Ong, who claims he has im yang, the power to heal physical and psychological diseases.

According to the soothsayer, who call himself Suhu (Teacher) Ong, a person's destiny is affected by three factors -- Heavenly Luck, Earthly Luck and Human Luck. Heavenly Luck is absolute, it is already destined for each person.

"But we still have a better chance of leading a good life if we maintain a harmony between the earthly and human lucks," he says.

Hmmm. Let's hope Ong's prophecies of calamity prove wrong.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!