Islamic Fasting Month

Ramadan

The Islamic Fasting Month

A Restaurant with a Curtain Across its Opening
Restaurants that serve food during daylight hours put up curtains so that fasting Muslims won’t see people eating.
Outside the City of Jambi people are forbidden to eat in these restaurants, though they can buy the food as “take-away.”

In 2013 the Islamic fasting month (Ramadan) occurred from 8 July till 8 August (some denominations of Islam say the 9th). When Westerners hear of the fasting month, they think Muslims fast for the entire month. That is not the case. They only fast during daylight hours, and there are often celebratory meals conducted in the mornings and evenings. The food prices tend to rise during this time of the year because more food is consumed during this month than the other months of the year.

There are also other significant changes that take place during Ramadan, and for guests in Indonesia, we’ve listed below some of the changes we observed in the Indonesian City of Jambi.

 

Chinese New Year

Imlek

Chinese New Year  /  Year of the Snake

Indonesia is heavily populated with Chinese Indonesians  (9 million), and with such a large number of them, the Chinese New Year is a much celebrated event.

Yesterday was the Chinese New Year, and to celebrate it we visited different Chinese families as they followed their Buddhist / Confucius, etc., traditions of welcoming guests into their homes and serving them a wide assortment of foods. While visiting, it was also a great opportunity to learn of some of their beliefs, and having made notes, we included them below.

 

Youth Pledge Day

National Youth Pledge Day

C., with some of the staff at SMK N 2.
(State Vocational High School No. 2)

On Monday, October 29^th we had the honor of visiting State Vocational High School No. 2 (SMK N 2–Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan Negeri 2) and observed their remembrance/ celebration of Sumpah Pemuda (National Youth Pledge Day). This remembrance is held on the 28^th of October each year (this year it was held on the 29^th since the 28^th was a Sunday).

One of the performers of an impressive dramatic presentation.

At the school all students and staff were assembled in front of the school. The principle gave a formal address, prayers were made, a few songs were sung, a marching band performed, and then a very dramatic performance was put on by about 15 students. The drama was their effort to ingrain in all assembled, the values of integrity, unity, and oneness as a nation. The performance was in the form of a drama that lasted no less than 30 minutes. It was quite powerful and impressionable!