Indonesia

Eid-ul-Fitr is the biggest celebrated event compared to any other religious observance in Indonesia. The Government of Indonesia only grants one day holiday for other occasions but for Eid-ul-Fitr, the government grants at least two days of holiday with an additional 3 days of common leave.

Indonesians call Eid-ul-Fitr as Idul Fitri or Lebaran. According to some people the word "Lebaran" literally means "wide". It is believed that to forgive other faults and to admit the mistakes that we have committed we need to 'widen' our heart. Perhaps this is why Eid-ul-Fitr is called "Lebaran" because only in the Lebaran's time that Indonesians visit their family and friends to ask for forgiveness for any wrongs they have committed in the previous year.

One or two week before Eid-ul-Fitr the preparation of Lebaran starts with a tradition called Mudik. This is a strongly hold tradition that creates the exodus of millions of people from the urban centers to the villages in order to celebrate Lebaran with family and friends in the villages. Millions of migrants from big cities like Jakarta make long queues for train and bus tickets, jump into any overloaded transportations they can find and get stuck for hours in traffic jams. In 2005 newspaper accounts estimated the movement of people around the country at 16.9 million!

For them, the hassles and pains are nothing but a small hazard of the home-sweet-home journey. Mudik is a sort of therapy which serves to revitalise family relationships. Mudik is believe to generate a new freshness, which instigates the migrants with new energy when they return to their hectic routines in the big cities.

The end of Ramadan in Indonesia is marked by a tradition called Takbiran. Starting in the evening of the last day of Ramadan and continuing throughout the night and into the following day, Muslims beat traditional bedug drums made a wood and dried cow's or goat's leather. Combined with the special pray (or Takbiran) bedug drums are beaten in a special rhythm either in stationary locations or in parades through the streets heralding the Lebaran holiday.

Finally the Lebaran begins with mass prayer gathering early in the morning at mosques, open fields, parks and on major streets. On the walk home from the mass prayers, quick visit are made to friends in the neighbourhood to ask for forgiveness.

After the morning prayers and neighbourhood visits, more visits are made to close family members around the town. Family members go to their parents first and then to the most senior relative's house (oldest person in the family) to apologise saying "Mohon Maaf...". Employees may also visit the homes of their senior bosses in the company of critical business colleagues and government officials to say "Mohon Maaf..." after their family visits are completed. Usually senior government officials hold an "open house", which means they invite all the staff together with their family to come to their house for "Mohon Maaf..."

At each house, special food, drinks and cookies or snacks are served. The traditional food that is served only in Lebaran is called Ketupat. The sticky rice cooked in intricately woven young coconut frond leaves that are still light green in colour. The rhomboid-shaped ketupat casing filled with sticky rice is afterward cut open and cut into small chunks, then served with various accompanying vegetable and meat dishes (opor and sambal goreng).

Since it is very impolite to refuse the food, by the end of the day you are so full that you can hardly move. While gathering with family, it is customary for the adults to give the young children some money. Rp. 1000.00 or equal to Tk 10 per kid will give huge smiles to their faces.