Year of the Goat to Bring Growth for Businesses
Jakarta. Chinese New Year has many meanings for Indonesians of Chinese descent, as they hope for the celebration to be even bigger, and bring more prosperity, than ever before.
Chinese New Year, known locally as Imlek, was celebrated on Thursday, and marked the first day of the lunar Year of the Wood Goat.
“For us, Gong Xi Xin Nien is about expressing celebration for other people so we can enter the new year healthy and blessed,” Gunadi Sindhuwinata, chief executive of automotive distributor Indomobil Sukses Makmur, said on Tuesday, referring to a traditional New Year’s greeting “that means a blissful new year, good health and growing business.”
He added the essence of the New Year was to deliver goodness to other people while also hoping for them to prosper.
For Allan Loi, managing director at tiremaker Goodyear Indonesia, Imlek means harmony and peace are fairly reflected in the Year of the Goat.
“As businessmen, we must not make material achievements the primary matter in celebration,” he said.
“I wish my family, co-workers and Indonesia receive greater prosperity and growth this year.”
Tutum Rahanta, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo), sees Imlek as a day to pay respects to the elders and seek their forgiveness.
“In this celebration, we gather with our families, just like Islam’s Idul Fitri. But Imlek celebrations are more of a cultural tradition [rather than religious],” he said.
Tutum explained that ethnic Chinese shared some philosophies for daily life that were passed on down the generations.
These include keeping pleasant relations with other people, having a good attitude, and never violating the rights of others.
The Chinese believe that to be closer to God, they must focus on relationships with other people, Tutum said.
Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia were forbidden from celebrating Imlek during the reign of the late strongman Suharto, as all markers of Chinese culture were restricted.
At the start of the reform period, then-president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid ended those restrictions in 2001, before his successor, Megawati Soekarnoputri, made Chinese New Year a national holiday the following year.
Many traditions conducted as part of Imlek celebration have a specific purpose in Chinese culture.
These rituals include decorating homes with lots of red ornaments and trimmings, which represent prosperity, strength and luck.
It is also common to pay off debts, hoping to enter the New Year debt-free.
The barongsai, known as the lion dance, is an icon of Imlek and represents happiness and luck.
Families also traditionally hand out angpao — a red envelope containing cash — which has become synonymous with the holiday.
Investor Daily
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