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Chinese New Year 2560 - Gong Xi Fa Cai

Red paper lantern

On January 26th 2009 (Indonesian time) the Chinese people around the world celebrate the Chinese New Year 2560th (old enough I think). It's sometimes called the Lunar New Year. Following tradition, at the night one day before the first day of new year, all family members gather together for dinner. The chosen venue usually at the home of the most senior member of the family or at restaurant. After dinner, usually followed by giving the red envelopes (Hongbao in Mandarin; Angpao in Indonesian) from married couples or the elderly to unmarried juniors, and the junior member give respect by saying the hope for health, happiness, and long-aged to the elderly. Prayer at the temples and visiting the other elderly relatives is the next schedules.

In Indonesia, I noted that since the era of President Abdurrahman Wahid (also known as Gus Dur), the Chinese culture such as lion dance (Indonesian called Barongsai), the use of Chinese characters and Chinese red paper lantern for decorations has gained wider space in front of public. This was possible since President Abdurrahman Wahid has removed Instruksi Presiden No.14 Tahun 1967 (Presidential Instruction No.14 Year 1967), and replaced with Keppres No.6 Tahun 2000 (Presidential Decree No.6 Year 2000). Further-more, the Chinese New Year (in Indonesian called Imlek) has officially become a national holiday, not a tentatively holidays anymore. You will see that this holiday has marked with RED COLOR within Indonesian calendar. Happy Chinese New Year 2560 - Gong Xi Fa Cai.

Comments

  1. Anonymous27/1/09

    great thanks to Mr Gus Dur, he make this happen, and give more spaces for tionghoa ethnics to bring culture and arts...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Suryaden,
    You are right, and I know that the Chinese communities in Indonesia is very grateful to President Abdurrahman Wahid (Mr. Gus Dur) for this matter. Including me also very grateful to him.

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  3. Anonymous27/1/09

    Happy New Year my friend!

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  4. Gong Xi Fa Cai
    Kiong hi...kiong hi

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  5. Anonymous27/1/09

    Selamat tahun kerbau tanah, hehehe

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  6. Anonymous27/1/09

    Happy New Year Mas Tikno, best wishes for you and your family

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  7. Gong Xi Fa Cai... met tahun baru Imlek buat yang merayakan :)

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  8. Anonymous27/1/09

    Gong Xi Fa Cai...
    Semoga persaudaraan sesama bangsa Indonesia selalu terjalin meski berbeda etnis.

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  9. I hope you enjoyed the holiday!

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  10. Anonymous27/1/09

    GONG XI FA CAI...

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  11. Anonymous27/1/09

    Met Hari IMLEK ya...

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  12. Anonymous27/1/09

    indahnya saling menghargai dlm perbedaan

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dear Russell, Baka Kelana, Tengkuputeh, Prihandoko, Cece, Ullyanov, SandyCarlson, Ifoel, Forum Pohuwato, Ziezie,

    Thank you very much to all of you, my friend. Wishes this Chinese New Year will brings new spirit, happiness and luck to you all and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous27/1/09

    Hi Tikno, Kung Hei Fat Choy....wish you more blessings.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous27/1/09

    Happy new year mate.May everything goes well with the new year :)
    Even we have our own new year(2066) after 2 months.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous27/1/09

    Happy New Year Tikno. All the very best for the new year to you.

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  17. gong xi fa chai
    happy cny

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  18. first time reading that its the 2560th cny ..... no idea at all

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  19. Have a happy Lunar New Year!
    xin nian kuai le!

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  20. Happy CNY! Best wishes :)

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  21. Anonymous28/1/09

    thank God, after years of Orba suppression on chinese cultures, Gus Dur finally made a brave decision to narrow the gap and bring different cultures together. it's high time to celebrate diversity. gong xi fa chai, tikno!

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  22. Anonymous28/1/09

    Hi Tikno,
    Gong Xi Fat Cai.. hope it is not too late! :)

    Thanks so much for your comment in my blog.

    How's life in the new year?

    Cheers,
    nadia

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous28/1/09

    Belated Happy Lunar New year!

    Thanks also for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous28/1/09

    GONG XI FA CAI...

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  25. Anonymous28/1/09

    GONG XI FA CAI...

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  26. gong xi fa cai tikno! im really amazed with the influence of chinese in your country.

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  27. Qong Xi Fa Chai bagi yang merayakan...... :-)

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  28. Anonymous28/1/09

    selamat tahun baru imlek

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  29. Anonymous28/1/09

    Gong Xi Fa Cai

    ReplyDelete
  30. Aloha Greetings for a Prosperous & Lucky New Year to YOU, Friend!

    Thank you for your kind visit and interesting comments at my blog. Hope to see you there often. I like your blog too! I used to work as an HIV prevention worker and appreciate your efforts in the battle for health. Blessings-

    ReplyDelete
  31. Fantastic and commendable effort indeed.

    May the Chinese New Year brings prosperity and joy to the ppl of Indonesia.

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  32. Gong Xi Fa Cai
    met tahun baru imlek!

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  33. Met tahun baru imlek, semoga di tahun kerbau ini segalanya akan lebih baik dr tahun lalu :)

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  34. Tikno, telat abis, tapi tetep, gong xie fat chai!!!

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  35. Thank you very much to all of you. Wishes God bless you with good health.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Hi Tinko( I guess Mr.Tinko)
    so usefulll ur blog it is!
    mine is updated I'LL become happy to have your comment about my posts.
    take care!
    bedrood(bye in Persian)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Happy New Year To you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous29/1/09

    wah twlat banget ya aku..
    maaf ya..
    angpaoku mana nich?
    hehehe
    Gong Xi Fa Cai

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous29/1/09

    Hi Tikno....
    Happy chinese New Year
    Gong Xi Fat Cay....

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous29/1/09

    Happy New Year to you, and thank you for sharing this post. I enjoy learning about different cultures.

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  41. Happy new Chinese year.

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  42. Happy Spring Festival !! 恭喜发财,万事如意!!

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  43. Gong Xi Fa Cai
    "Ox-perous " New Year :)

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  44. Thank you very much to you all. Hopefully God bless you and your family.

    Happy Chinese New Year to all of you who celebrates it. Once again thank you for your comments.

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  45. Anonymous31/1/09

    I don't know much about chinese new year or gong xi fa cai, but donate poor people with rice or money with angpao, I agre with this donation..

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  46. Anonymous31/1/09

    Hi,

    Thank you for dropping by my site. Yes, I notice that Indonesia is now more open to Chinese culture, which I am very pleased to hear.

    My wife is an Indonesian, I worked in Jakarta for 9 months, and we visit Indonesia, esp Bandung, very often. Lovely place.

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  47. Bro Tikno,
    very interesting read on Indonesian aspect of CNY celebration indeed,thank you.
    I am also curious about how you derive the year 2560 because on my Thai Calendar its only 2552..and I think Chinese history went back at least 5000 years :)
    Anyway,nice to know you and I have added you to my follow list. Keep writing yah?

    ReplyDelete
  48. Anonymous31/1/09

    Gong Xi Fa Cai... best wishes for you and your family

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  49. Thank you very much for all the comments and greeting from all of you.

    To : Johnny Ong and TT Tan,

    I wrote the 2560 digit is based on Indonesian calendar. I don't know why the digit is differ in other countries. Please search through Google with the keyword "imlek 2560" and you will find many Indonesian sites saying "Imlek 2560". In Indonesia, the Chinese New Year is called "Imlek".

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  50. Anonymous31/1/09

    Let's view it from the positive angle

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  51. Anonymous1/2/09

    Hi, thanks for dropping by my site. happy new year to you too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  52. I tried to google for the answer,but I cannot seem to find it. Maybe we should start asking around if anyone knows the origin of imlek 2560?

    ReplyDelete
  53. Anonymous1/2/09

    ups i forgot...
    Gong Xi Fa Cai for you and family mr. tikno

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  54. Anonymous1/2/09

    Gong Xi Fa Cai deh pokoknya bagi yang ngerayaain

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  55. indeed gus dur has done a great job for chinese etnics on this matter.. so we can enjoy holiday in this special event.
    happy CNY, Tikno!

    ReplyDelete
  56. Anonymous1/2/09

    Gong Xi Fa Cai
    best wishes for you

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  57. Thank you to all of you.

    To: TT Tan,
    The origin of the term "imlek" is from Indonesia.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Hi Tikno. Happy Chinese New Year to you. I am happy to know that you are happy with your government. :)

    ReplyDelete
  59. Big thanks to Mr. Gus Dur for giving wider space for the Chinese in Indonesia. I believe that suppression should not be imposed to any ethnicity society because they are also human created by God and allowed by Him to live in this world.Every human should have open mind to accomodate each other. Parochiolism can only contribute conflict and friction.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Satu langkah maju dari Mr. Gus Dur untuk pembaharuan Indonesia menjadi negara demokrasi yang seutuhnya tanpa membedakan etnis atau diskriminasi ras.....
    Gong Xi Fa Cai buat Mr. Tikno and family...
    (Maaf terlambat datang nih..)

    ReplyDelete
  61. Anonymous3/2/09

    This is great stuff! I was working in Indonesia last year but did not managed to catch any celebrations.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Any holiday is a good holiday!
    I think it should become an international holyday so we can all enjoy the moment.
    Happy new year to you!

    ReplyDelete
  63. Anonymous3/2/09

    selamat tahun baru china happy chinese new year. Gong xi fa cai

    ReplyDelete
  64. Anonymous3/2/09

    senengnya kalo pas ada barongsai,....!!!

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  65. Thank you to all of you.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Hi Tikno, there is one thing that confuse me. Why is it that there are different words that translate Happy Chinese New Year. I mean, some say it in other words...

    ReplyDelete
  67. Gong xi fat choy...................

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  68. Anonymous6/2/09

    --Good Posts & Gong xi Fat Choy--

    ReplyDelete
  69. Kung hai Fat choi Love Ely.. I love your new lay out, not dark anymore!

    by the way, i have a tag for you here

    ReplyDelete
  70. Anonymous6/2/09

    Happy Chinese new year to you and your family Tikno!

    ReplyDelete
  71. dear Tikno,
    I am so sorry for take long time re open your blog again...have a nice day,, happy chinese new year

    ReplyDelete
  72. hello.........
    bagi angpaonya dong....heheheeh.....................
    gmana nih kabarnya.....

    ReplyDelete
  73. Thank you very much to all of you.
    Gong Xi Fa Cai

    To Grace,
    This link could be a reference for you.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_new_year

    In Indonesia, Chinese New Year was called "Imlek"

    To Chubskulit, thank you very much for the tag.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Happy New Year Tikno! I wish much success to you and your family in this beautiful new year!

    I like your new lay out. You have really been busy. Your site looks great.

    Be well my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  75. Anonymous8/2/09

    Ikutan ngomong:

    Gong Xi Fat Chai juga bagi yang merayakan,...
    semoga kedepan segalanya menjadi lebih baik

    ReplyDelete
  76. great to know that. i wish i could come to indonesia and witness how new years are celebrated there. :D

    ReplyDelete
  77. Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu.

    It's happy new year in Japanese.

    Happy New Year to everyone in Indonesia.

    Naoto Matsumoto

    ReplyDelete
  78. Gong Xi Fat Chai
    (sdh lewat ya?)
    Kalau begitu Happy Cap Go Me

    ReplyDelete
  79. Anonymous11/2/09

    Unlimited blessings and happiness.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Anonymous13/2/09

    udah cap go meh nih mas tikno...
    sehat-sehat aja to semuanya...

    ReplyDelete
  81. Anonymous13/2/09

    Blessings on a well thought post. And thank You for your comment. I'll follow your writings . D'Ellis

    ReplyDelete
  82. Hi Tikno, how are you doing now? It has been a while since your last post. Happy Valentine's Day. :)

    ReplyDelete
  83. Happy New Year! And thanks for stopping by my blog. I lived in China (Beijing) for two years, and experienced new year's there. One of those new years I celebrated in Hunan. There were so many fireworks during the night that it sounded like we were in a war! :)

    ReplyDelete
  84. Anonymous16/2/09

    Belum ada posting baru ya?

    ReplyDelete
  85. Belated happy valentine's day, thanks for the visit and greetings!

    Joops and chubskulit

    ReplyDelete
  86. Anonymous17/2/09

    Happy New Year Tikno, God bless You

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  87. Happy New Year from America! :)

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  88. Hi Tikno, I am here again. It looks like you are very, very, very busy. :)
    Be safe always.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Anonymous19/2/09

    Gong Xi Fa Cai is an interesting celebration. I'm glad Gusdur has made change.

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  90. Anonymous25/2/09

    Selamat taun baru.. meskipun telat, semoga sukses.. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  91. Anonymous1/3/09

    Wah..belom update yah..

    ReplyDelete
  92. Anonymous13/3/09

    kaYaknya Udah lama BeLum Update Nich???
    hehehe....
    Yah inilah nasib bangsa kita ini
    melalui GusaDur Rakyat Cina Diindonesia dapat Lebih Menikmati Kebudayaannya Bro
    Sehingga Generasi BerIkutnya pun dapat merasakan mempelajari tentang kebudayaan cina yang memiliki filosofi yang dalam
    so guys ini merupakan pengaruh yang positif juga buat bangsa Indonesia
    Thx Mr Gus..
    hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  93. Hi Tikno..

    I didn't notice that you did visit my site, looking for the sunset photos that i post in one of my blog posts. Thanks for stop by and left comments.

    Seems to be u are very busy and didn't update your blog. By the way u have a very nice blog.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  94. Thank you very much to all of you who have leave comments. I'm apologize for the late reply, because I am very busy lately.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Anonymous4/1/10

    The Chinese New Year is wonderful, so focused on love and respect of family. It has become so commercial in my country, the US. But it is slowly changing.

    ReplyDelete
  96. M8malone, thank you for your comment.

    ReplyDelete

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