Cultural Celebrations

Based on our readings from the past few weeks and our upcoming assignment, I wanted to reflect on the significance of holidays in different cultures. The country I was chosen to research was Indonesia. When I first started my search, I did not know much about this country and a picture of Buddhism kept popping up in my mind. Although Buddhism is a widely represented religion in Indonesia, there are five more religions that are also represented in this country. These religions include: Islam, Protestant,  Catholicism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. Many times, holidays are affiliated with certain religions. Christmas is celebrated greatly in the U.S. and is typically tied to the the Christian faith, while Passover and Ramadan are also celebrated in the United States but are not as widely known or celebrated. It was surprising to me when I read about how Indonesia also celebrates these similar holidays. Indonesia has a holiday called Eid, which celebrates the end of Ramadan. Growing up in a diverse neighborhood, many of my Arabic friends would fast for Ramadan and celebrate Eid. It was in that moment that I realized I had a big misconception of the Indonesian culture and the many different facets that went into that culture. Before researching, I would have solely thought of Ramadan as a holiday only celebrated by Arabic Nations. But what I failed to understand was that these holidays are not just celebrated and part of the culture in the Middle East, they are also celebrated in the United States and part of our culture as well. I never thought of this holiday as part of the American culture because I did not celebrate it. I failed to think about all of the U.S. citizens who do not celebrate Christmas and Easter. Just because they do not celebrate these holidays, does not make them less of an American citizen.

If you would like to learn more about Indonesian culture. I found this video to be very helpful. If you would like to view the video, please click here.