Lunar New Year in Indonesia โ known as Imlek (from the Hokkien pronunciation of 'Yinli,' meaning lunar calendar) โ carries a depth of meaning that transcends festivity. For over three decades (1967โ1998), the Suharto New Order government banned all public displays of Chinese culture, language, and custom. Imlek celebrations were forced underground; Chinese-language schools were closed; Chinese names were changed to Indonesian ones; the culture was systematically suppressed.
The fall of the New Order in 1998 and the subsequent presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) began a gradual process of cultural rehabilitation. In 2002, Gus Dur officially made Imlek a national holiday โ an act of recognition and restitution that moved the Tionghoa (Indonesian-Chinese) community deeply. Today, Imlek is celebrated with a joy that is at once jubilant and grateful โ the joy of a culture restored to the public space it always deserved.
Indonesia is home to one of the world's largest overseas Chinese populations, estimated at around 10 million people. The Tionghoa community โ having maintained their cultural identity through extraordinary adversity โ brings exceptional vitality to the Imlek celebration, particularly in cities like Medan (North Sumatra), which has one of the highest concentrations of Chinese-Indonesians and some of the most lavish Imlek festivities on the archipelago.