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Semangat ‘45: Nation upbeat ahead of Independence Day festivities
People are relishing the thought of celebrating Indonesia's Independence Day festivities in person and en masse, after more than two years of being sequestered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Indonesian children partake in a classic game of nail-in-a-bottle at the Islamic University of Malaysia’s sports complex in Kuala Lumpur, on Aug. 14, just days before Indonesia’s 77th Independence Day. The aim of the game is to lower a nail into an empty bottle using only a string that is attached to a participant’s body. (Antara/Virna Puspa Setyorini)
People are looking forward to welcoming Independence Day celebrations this week after more than two years of muted fanfare under the shadow of COVID-19.
For 43-year-old Dedy Gonzalez, a private-sector worker from Bekasi, West Java, the Aug. 17 festivities are “the best time of the year”, particularly since Dedy has been looking forward to the friendly competitions that his neighborhood would usually hold throughout the month.
“With the pandemic ongoing, the past two [Independence Day celebrations] have been very quiet. So this time around, people in my neighborhood are in high spirits. Some homeowners have even put up their decorations since July,” Dedy told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Hoisting up the Indonesian flag and other red-and-white themed decorative banners is part of the ritual that most Indonesians observe. Also part and parcel of the fanfare are the friendly sporting competitions held among neighbors.
Dedy, himself a sports enthusiast, is partaking in his neighborhood’s volleyball and table-tennis competitions. He said he has been training in the hopes of making it to the neighborhood finals, to be held on Independence Day.
Suniarti, 53, another private-sector worker from Bekasi, has also been busy helping to organize her own neighborhood’s independence-day competitions.
Unlike most neighborhoods, including Dedy’s, which would use sports as the main thread, Suniarti said she has had to get a bit creative for her own neighborhood’s competitions, since most of the residents are seniors.
