Indonesians celebrate Christmas far from home

Prapti Widinugraheni, Contributor, Perth, Australia

T'was two weeks before Christmas. Fairy lights adorn streets and houses, schools prepare end-of-year shows, holidays are planned and every commercial outlet promises the most spectacular Christmas event ever.

It's the busiest time of year for everyone, but busiest of all are the shopping malls. It may be the time of year to be giving, but first comes the act of buying.

The most common conversation in the past week was, "Have you done your Christmas shopping?" And the typical answer would be (after rolling the eyes or making an exasperated grimace), "Done most of it. It's crazy at the shops, people everywhere, but you just have to do it."

It's unbearable, but the outcome -- a smile on the face of loved ones receiving the gifts -- will be worth the time, money and effort spent.

That is what retailers want people to believe.

To me and, perhaps, to the other 5,000 Indonesians who land in Perth each summer, the concept is alien. Like most people celebrating Christmas in Indonesia, I grew up believing that giving and receiving presents were mere sideshows. It's the Christmas spirit that counts, so cheap towels and generic T- shirts made for acceptable Christmas gifts.

Now, I learn, Christmas spirit and spirituality aren't enough. Christmas -- in true Australian style -- involves much more than that. You must go on a serious shopping frenzy.

First, I was told, you had to think about the person you are giving the present to. A Christmas gift must be personal, right and proper. If you must give him a coffee mug, don't give any old mug. Get one with his favorite cartoon character on it -- and make sure he doesn't have one already.

Second, avoid giving pretty but useless things. Not only will they add to clutter, you would also be remembered as the one who gave that undesirable item for Christmas.

Last but not least, do not fret if this means you must buy slightly pricey items; rest assured that everyone does so too this time of year. Of course you can only hope that in return, you too will receive something that's neither junk nor tacky. I soon associated Christmas with stress.

It was a relief when I discovered that going shopping mad was not the only thing happening this time of year.

Christmas is also a time when Perth's numerous suburbs stage choirs by candlelight, organize special performances and hold other special events.

In the hip port town of Fremantle, about 20 minutes south of Perth, there was a Christmas concert, candlelight carols and scores of ongoing art exhibitions.

The Perth Zoo had "Carols, Candles and Creatures" and "Happy Zoo Year" shows while Kings Park Botanic Gardens held an outdoor performance of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In Perth's city center, there was a Christmas nativity performance with live camels and a New Year's Eve celebration on the nightclub strip of Northbridge.

Then there were outdoor cinemas, a Christmas pageant and major cricket, basketball and soccer matches.

One of the most common features of outdoor events is an invitation to bring picnic hampers, rugs and comfortable collapsible chairs.

After all, Christmas in the southern hemisphere is a summer affair. And more so in Perth, where clear blue skies, balmy summer nights and abundant sunlight is a norm. In fact, most Perth people spend Christmas and New Year's days outdoors, picnicking in a park and tending to the barbecue.

Dani Darudana, an Indonesian who has lived here for 21 years, says most of her Christmas and New Year's days involve lazing on the shores of the Swan River, which runs through Perth, with champagne glass in one hand and picnic food in the other.

"Sometimes we watch fireworks in Gloucester Park after dinner. But this year, we're planning a hideaway at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle," she says.

Dani's teenage kids are likely to hang out in Northbridge for an alcohol-free "old and new year's" party.

Heny Suhartini, who works as a checkout staff, prefers watching the fireworks in Kings Park. Some years, like many Indonesians visiting Perth, she goes to the Burswood International Resort Casino, which not only operates a 24-hour gambling resort, but a theater, golf course, convention center, indoor stadium and nightclub as well.

Heny has lived here for 10 years and resides with her Australian husband in one of Perth's northern suburbs.

"We've never spent New Year's Eve in the city. I don't think we'd enjoy it because there's bound to be drunks and lots of trouble. So we avoid that," she says.

Having a barbecue with close friends has become their Christmas Day ritual.

"Australians are like insects; when it's cold, they become inactive, but when the weather gets hot, they swarm outdoors," she joked.

For some people, Christmas and New Year's is not all about partying. Christy Imam, who studies marketing and public relations at Curtin University of Technology, sees it as an opportunity for work. And what better incentive than to get double pay for the long hours and hard labor done at a time when everybody else is unwinding.

"I've lived in Perth for four years and I've always worked during the Christmas holidays, except in my third year when I went home to Jakarta," she said.

Christy has a part-time waitressing job at the Parmelia Hilton hotel, which is frequented by Garuda crew and Japanese tourists. This year she waitressed again.

New Year's Day will probably consist of a barbecue with friends, she says.

"It's easy and fun. And for us students, it's the most affordable option," Christy quips.

Tight-budgeted foreign students are bad news for retailers and Australian-style Christmas celebrations. But that might be what it takes to have Christmas celebrated the way it should be -- with just a bit of spirit, spirituality and not much else.