2022: The Comeback of Surakarta’s Chinese New Year Celebration

The Lampion ornaments that hang above Pasar Gede Clock Monument. (doc. Henry)

    Surakarta, February 5 – The Chinese New Year celebration in Surakarta is comeback during this COVID-19 pandemic. A thousand lampions are hanged in several places in the Pasar Gede area. This new year celebration of Water Tiger will be held after the absence of the celebration last year, 2021.

    Chinese New Year celebrations are so varied and interesting. Many places celebrate that with their own way, including Surakarta. 

    Chinese New Year celebrations in Surakarta are no longer the ritual that is only believed by the Confucians, it has become a part of a cultural celebration that is not much different from the celebration of Sekaten or New Year's Eve.

    Currently, Chinese New Year in Surakarta has been assimilated into Javanese culture. As proof, every Chinese New Year celebration in Surakarta always held the celebration called ‘Grebeg Sudiro’. Grebeg Sudiro is a cultural carnival that is held when Chinese New Year arrives, and its only happen in Surakarta.

    The word ‘grebeg’ is from the Javanese tradition, usually used to welcoming special days such as: Mulud (birth of the Prophet Muhammad), Shawwal (Eid), Eid al-Adha and Suro (Javanese New Year). Then, the word ‘sudiro’ is the name of a village in the district of Jebres in Solo, named Sudiroprajan.

    The beginning of the Grebeg Sudiro celebration was in 2007 which imitated the Grebeg Suro activity in Ponorogo which has long been successful in organizing activities on stage and street. Although not a celebration of the past, this celebration is a development of the tradition that existed before, Buk Teko. Buk Teko (from the word ‘buk’, a cement seat on the edge of a bridge or in front of a house, while the word Teko is literally a teapot) is a celebration tradition before Chinese New Year and has been celebrated since Sampeyan Dalem Ingkang Sinuhun Kanjeng Susuhunan Paku Buwono X (1893-1939). Grebeg Sudiro has developed into an elegant dialogue between Chinese and Javanese ethnic.

    But, the presence of Grebeg Sudiro is absent this year. It has been stated by Gibran Rakabuming, the Mayor of Surakarta "We just want the Chinese New Year celebrations to be there. Don’t let the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year not exist for the last two years. Everyone should be able to enjoy themselves. Photo spots have been prepared, but not crowded, the ceremony is limited. It’s just as a marker that this is Chinese New Year," Gibran said after He met a number of Chinese figures who are members of Perkumpulan Masyarakat Surakarta (PMS) on Wednesday (12/1).

The Lampion ornaments and lamps that hang above the Pasar Gede area. (doc. Henry)

    The event of Chinese New Year celebration in Surakarta is limited. The chairman of the 2022 Chinese New Year Joint Committee, Sumartono Hadinoto, said that based on the results of the committee meeting, this year's Chinese New Year celebrations were divided only into three activities. The activity is the installation of lampions, Cap Go Meh event and Liong and Lion Dance carnival.

    Liong dance, which aims to repel reinforcements, will be started at many locations like Bundaran Gladag, Pura Mangkunegaran, Warung Pelem and Ketandan. Then, the liong dancer gather at Pendapi Gede, Solo City Hall.

    The lampion lantern in Pasar Gede is only lit from 17.00-21.00 WIB. This restriction is intended to avoid crowds in the Pasar Gede area, while many people capture some photos.

    Lampion lantern is hung in the Pasar Gede area. The lampion is only 1000 pieces in total. The years before, they hanged up to 5000 pieces of lampion around that area. 

    Due to this pandemic, we should be careful to avoid the Covid-19 spreading, especially for the Omicron and Delta variants. The limitation of the Chinese New Year celebration in Surakarta is a good way.

The figure of Tiger Shio at the front of Solo City Hall (doc. Henry)

    2022 is the year of the Water Tiger. The event of Chinese New Year celebration in Surakarta also showed the figure of Tiger Shio at the front of Solo City Hall. 2022 is the year of the Water Tiger. It starts from February 1st, 2022, and ends on January 21st, 2023. A Water Tiger year occurs every 60 years. Years of the Tiger include 2022, 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950, 1938 and so on. 

    As said on China Highlight, the Tiger is known as the king of all beasts in China. The zodiac sign Tiger is a symbol of strength, exorcising evils, and braveness. Many Chinese kids wear hats or shoes with a tiger image for good luck.

    Ox and Goat are the luckiest zodiac signs in the year of 2022. For those born in the years of the Rat, Snake, Monkey, Pig and Dog, you will need to make comparatively more effort in order to make achievements. Rabbit, Dragon, Horse, and Rooster people are destined to enjoy a smooth life and good luck in making money this year. Tigers will encounter their 'birth sign year' (benmingnian 本命年) in 2022. Wearing red will bring good luck in a birth sign year.