Indonesia Public Holidays Guide Info

The Government in a joint decree issued on June 9, 2008 by the Minister of Religion, Minister of Manpower and Transmigrations and the Minister, and the State Minister for Administrative Reform declared the following official holidays for 2009, and it means our office also will be close for all those period :

Muslim festivals during the lunar month of Ramadhan that precedes Eid Al-Fitr, Muslims feast and eat at night and Fast during the day. General business patterns may be interrupted and several restaurants are closed during the day, there can also be restrictions on smoking and drinking. Some disruption may continue into Eid Al-Fitr it self. Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha may last from 2 to 7 days.

On Nyepi day itself, every street is quiet - there are nobody doing their normal daily activities “Day of Silence”. There is usually Pecalangs (traditional Balinese security man) who controls and checks for street security. Pecalang wear a black uniform and a Udeng or Destar (a Balinese traditional "hat" that is usually used in ceremony). The Pecalangs main task is not only to control the security of the street but also to stop any activities that disturb Nyepi. No traffic is allowed, not only cars but also people, who have to stay in their own houses. Light is kept to a minimum or not at all, the radio or TV is turned down and, of course, no one works. Even love making, this ultimate activity of all leisure times, is not supposed to take place, nor even attempted. The whole day is simply filled with the barking of a few dogs, the shrill of insect and is a simple long quiet day in the calendar of this otherwise hectic island. On Nyepi the world expected to be clean and everything starts anew, with Man showing his symbolic control over himself and the "force" of the World, hence the mandatory religious control.

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