What Foreigners Can Enjoy During Idul Fitri Festival

These are what foreigners can enjoy during the Idul Fitri celebration in Indonesia.

So you are a foreign tourist or on professional visit to Indonesia at the moment and are just aware that you are in a middle of Idul Fitri festival and celebration, the biggest annual religious and socio-cultural event in this world’s largest Muslim country?

You are lucky, and you can expect to see and experience more than what you originally wish to see, enjoy and expect for in Indonesia.

Idul Fitri festival (or sometimes called as 'lebaran'), that signifies the end of the one full month fasting, this year falling on 17 and 18 July 2015, the moment which is believed to grant you with a new life, is a much awaited moment for Indonesian’s Moslems. It is a moment where  people might travel a long way to see their elders and beloved ones living far away from where they dwell to earn a living. It is the time where public swimming-pools, recreation areas, and dining centers are packed with people while the big cities’ traffics turn dramatically relaxed and quiet. It is the time when people wear their brand new clothes, with big smiles and gleeful laughers. It is the time when public services are closed and shops and convenient store will not be available until midday.

That’s not good enough?

Okay, you might think that this is plain ordinary and that leaves you with no better choice than stay longer in your hotel room.  It is much less interesting than the Buddhist’s Songkran water festival in Thailand where foreign tourists can go down the street and immerse themselves with the local people in 3-day cheerful and  water splashing days. It may be less impressive than the Hindhu’s Diwali festival in India in which foreign tourists are amazed by how the whole country is blanketed with the beauty offered by decorations made out of fire and worth enjoying additional cultural events.

The Idul Fitri festival in Indonesia has never been—if any-- massively introduced by Indonesia’s government  as one of the country’s tourist attractions, the way Thai and Indian governments have done to their Songkran and Diwali respectively.

But believe me, Idul Fitri festival offers an array of a unique atmosphere that may quench your thirst for knowledge on different pieces of how people live in a culturally distinctive way.  Here is how you can make your stay during the two-day Idul Fitri celebration more  than just a boring hotel-room hibernation.

1# Wake Up Early on First Day of Idul Fitri

This year, that will be on 17 July 2015. Wake up at 5 a.m., grab your camera, and go of your hotel, and go any direction. You will hear the takbir (continuous chants  expressing ‘Allahu Akbar’,  Arabic  for ‘God is Great’), that actually starts  the night before,  amplified through Mosques’ loudspeakers; and you will see people, may be in groups, in their (brand new) colorful outfits, happily making their way to mosques or open public spaces for observation of the Idul Fitri prayer. This will give you a chance to make some memorable photo snaps.

Follow where those people are heading to and wait till they finish praying (this will take no longer than one hour); after which you will enjoy the moment when you see people in their big smiles; how they shake each other hands or hug in a friendly manner, saying “Minal aidzin walfaidzin (Arabic for  ‘May you be among those who have happy returns). Mohon maaf lahir dan batin (Indonesian for ‘please forgive me for what I have done wrong’).

2# Enjoy the Relax City Traffic

Traffics in big cities tend to go easy as more than half of the population has left for their native village. A stroll in a quieter city life will be a good one although there is little chance you got shops open in case you need food or drink before noon. It is even better if you happen to get a bicycle ready with you; you can expand your city exploration for more varied things to see, in the absence of hectic traffic and vehicle’s honks.

3# Family Culinary Delight

Best food of the local delicacies is served by families during the Idul Fitri celebration. This might not be for public offer, but if you happen to have built close social circle with your Moslem Indonesian friends, they may invite you to the special family meal time. Don’t refuse the offers or you will lose the opportunity of getting introduced to richly home-made local delicacies you won’t find in any hotel’s buffets or restaurants.

4# Enjoy the Far Less Hectic Metropolitan Atmosphere

If you happen to be or stay in a less metropolitan area, it will be even better. You can expect to see more local religious and cultural events related to the Idul Festival’s get together with more availability of colorful things to witness along with genuine hospitality and generosity the local people demonstrate. Don’t stay in. Get out, see what happens, make photos and talk to people!

5# Learn to wish people  ‘Selamat Idul Fitri’

‘Selamat Idul Fitri’ (pronounced as ‘sah-lah-mut-ee-dool-fee-tree’) simply means ‘have a nice Idul Fitri’. People will be more than happy to get such wish from you for their feeling of being respected. You can wish people by simply saying it or coupled with a warm handshake. But be aware  that some women can’t receive man’s handshakes due to religious norms, and, instead,  you can simply put your palm together in front of your chest  while wishing the ‘selamat Idul Fitri’. How do you know a woman won’t take handshakes? They will greet you with their palm together in front of their chests.

But, of course, you can still expect warm sincere smiles from everybody.

For photos of Idul Fitri moments, kindly go googling with the following key words :

• ‘Salat idul fitri’ (for Idul Fitri prayer)
• ‘Hidangan lebaran’ (for Idul Fitri culinary delicacies)
• ‘Suasana lebaran’ (for Idul Fitri family gathering moments)
• ‘Lebaran di desa’ (for photos of rural Idul Fitri moments)
• ‘Arus mudik' (for photos of road traffic jams and outrageous traffic condition before and after the Idul Fitri)

Have a wonderful stay in Indonesia during the Idul Fitri time!

Ilustrasi: bostoncom