Happy Independence Day, Indonesia

Happy Independence Day, Indonesia

Happy 74th anniversary, Indonesia

So, this is the day.

Today, 17th of August 2019, Indonesia is celebrating her 74th anniversary. 

It might look young in terms of independence but we certainly are blessed with so many incredible things after the Independence Day.

This is our second year in Indonesia and we have a blast in celebrating the Independence Day. As you have probably remember from my post last year, we had the ceremony at the office, the flag hoisting ceremony, which were held early in the morning led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia herself, H.E. Mrs. Retno Marsudi.

The Minister leading the ceremony

This year, we have the similar commemoration. But of course with different theme and different decorations. For sure I am wearing a different costume as well LOL.

Vienna, my junior, and I wearing Lampungnese Tapis

Last year, I wear the Lampungnese dress with white kebaya, Lampungnese Tapis, and a full set of Lampungnese Siger from Pepadun tribe. It was fun indeed, but as you can probably imagine, wearing traditional costumes is not always that practical at all LOL.

Read : The 73rd Anniversary of Indonesia's Independence

This year, I decided to wear the red kebaya adorned with Lampungnese Tapis as well, paired with red-green-and-gold Tapis and slightly smaller Siger or the head dress. It proves to be more wearable for me for the whole morning. Not as heavy as the previous Siger I wore last year. And for sure it looks beautiful as well.

Wearing red this year..my Mas Riaz, my senior

So I came to the office at 6:30 AM, which is quite early,  In order to ensure that I don’t miss the ceremony. When I arrived, the field that we use for the ceremony was already packed with people wearing colorful traditional Indonesian costumes. It is very heartwarming to see the beauty of diversity that my country is embracing, and that’s only from the costume alone. I see those wearing costumes from various parts in Java, Sumatera, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and also Papua.

 We have the usual flag raising ceremony proceedings, starting with welcoming the inspector of the ceremony, which is my minister, followed by reading out Pancasila (our 5-principles state philosophy), the preamble of our constitution, the flag hoisting process, and the presentations of various token of appreciation for those who have been working for 10 ,15, 20 or more years in my institution. Finally, the ceremony was closed by praying together and then singing some national songs.

But obviously that’s not all. We had fun photo sessions with the Minister and all the high rank officials from a ministry at the field and in front of Gedung Pancasila, One of the historical an iconic buildings in Jakarta where Pancasila our states philosophy , was inaugurated.

some members of the big family of Multilateral Affairs

ASEAN Way..

Colorful Indonesia!

the colleagues from my batch, Sekdilu 28!

Snacks and food are available as well and we definitely enjoyed them. After that I’m heading back home and rest for a while before joining my neighbors who are conducting some traditional games, like makan kerupuk, balap karung and panjat pinang, to celebrate Independence Day. 

Get more stories from my YouTube channel as well about this ceremony.

So that’s my story on the independence day.

What’s your story?

Happy Independence Day, Indonesia

The 73rd Anniversary of Indonesia's Independence

Happy 73rd Anniversary of Indonesia's Independence!

Posing with Lampungnese traditional attire against the backdrop of our First President, Ir. Soekarno, declared Indonesia's Independence

August 17 is celebrated as the national day for my beloved Indonesia.
Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta, the founding fathers of Indonesia, proclaimed Indonesia's independence on this day after being colonised by the Dutch for around 350 years and by Japanese for around 3.5 years.

After celebrating it in New York City for the last 4 years, we are now celebrating it at home!
In our beloved Indonesia!
We were super excited.

My office invited all of its staff to join the flag-hoisting ceremony starting at 7.15 AM.
My kids already had the similar events a day before as their schools were off on the D-day.

Happy Independence Day, Indonesia. Picture from pixabay

I went to my office for the flag-hoisting ceremony that morning and we were requested to wear Indonesian traditional costumes. As Indonesia is indeed rich in cultural heritages, being a proud home of more than 700 traditional tribes (or may be even more!), we believe that showcasing those traditional costumes during our national day will be a perfect occasion to deepen our love and respect towards our historical roots and independent struggles. 

The ceremony started at 7.15 AM and we finished at around 8 AM, as the Minister needed to be at the Palace to join the celebration with the President of the Republic of Indonesia, which started at 10 AM.
The ceremony was conducted in a semi-military arrangement, with flag-hoisting team marching to the flag pole and hoisting Merah Putih, our national flag, while the participants sang Indonesia Raya, our national anthem, together.
It was such a solemn and proud moment, as we all continue fighting for Indonesia's priorities and needs, wherever we are.

As you probably know very well, I chose to wear the wedding attire of Lampung, where I was born and raised. 

Proklamasi....

You don't know how proud I was wearing the almost-3-kg Siger or the traditional crown as well as the complete set of the costume which includes 2-kg Tapis Lampung or the hand-woven traditional fabrics from golden threads. 
It was indeed a great experience, considering that it was a hot and humid morning :).

The Siger, traditional crown of Lampungnese bride

The flag-raising ceremony is taken place in so many parts of Indonesia as well as the representatives of Indonesia all over the world.It is usually followed by Pesta Rakyat or people's party, packed with sports and fun contests as well as endless entertainment. While we were in NYC, we never missed the ceremony as well as the Street Festival conducted in the following weeks.



Long story short, the ceremony in my Office in Jakarta was solemnly done and afterwords, we had fun photo sessions here and there, as always.
I even took the photo near the mascots of Asian Games 2018, Bhin Bhin, Atung and Kaka.

Enjoy some pictures I took with my phone during the ceremony and once again,

HAPPY 73RD ANNIVERSARY, INDONESIA

Maju terus, Indonesiaku tercinta

72nd Anniversary of Indonesia's Independence

Happy 72nd Anniversary, Indonesiaku

August 17.

That's when Indonesia celebrates its Independence Day.

After being colonized by Dutch for approximately 350 years, finally, Soekarno and Muhammad Hatta proclaimed our independence on August 17th, 1945.

This year is my 4th year celebrating our Independence Day in New York City.

You know well how different it feels to celebrate such auspicious day when you are away from home.

This year, we have the morning celebration at the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in NYC.

Certainly, my family and I went there to attend the celebration.

Although early in the morning I have the kick-off breakfast for Making Strides against Breast Cancer at Marriott Marquis Hotel Times Square, but I managed to meet my mom and the kids before heading to the Consulate General.

We made it right on time, when the ceremony was about to begin.

The morning celebration is open to all Indonesians and friends of Indonesia who would love to attend.

Back home in Indonesia, we have the ceremony all across the country.

We usually have the flag-raising ceremony, including in the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, but in NYC, as we are doing it inside the room, we have different protocol arrangement.

After solemnly celebrate the Independence Day, we continued the gathering with photo sessions and enjoying the refreshment.

with the big family of Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the UN and the Consul General

My mom, Obi, and I wore the red ensemble adorned with Tapis Lampung, the traditional hand-woven fabrics from my hometown Lampung. The traditional pattern of pucuk rebung is the one we chose. My mom and Obi wore dresses while I wore kebaya kutu baru as my top.  Kebaya is also one of our national dresses.

In red, beautifully adorned with Tapis Lampung.

We certainly have the traditional Nasi Kuning with all its condiments (read the RECIPE here :)) and some other Indonesian traditional munchies. 

I was so busy catching up with friends and colleagues, I didn't take really take picture of those yummy food. But most importantly, we all gathered with the same spirit to continue our fight for our country, wherever we are

 We all are grateful to have the independent Indonesia and amidst the fact that we have been independent for quite sometimes, we still have a lot of home works at home.
We will continue to strive for a better future. 
For a better Indonesia.
Always!

Dirgahayu Indonesia

My beloved homeland, always.

2017 Independence Celebration at Astoria Park NYC

4th of July is coming!

Time for the celebration...
What's on the agenda?

And we have our early celebration here in Astoria.

That means fireworks!

Every year, an early celebration for the independence day of the US is celebrated in Astoria Park. Usually, it is 4-5 days before the D-day, the 4th of July.

And we just don't wanna miss the 2017 Independence Celebration at Astoria Park NYC.

Fireworks, near the pool, perfect weather means picnic.

And that's exactly what we are doing.
I was heading back home in hurry, at 7 PM, just to make sure I have enough time to prepare our mini picnic with the kids. 

The fireworks were launched at Astoria Park Lawn, on the Shore boulevard between the Hell Gate Bridge and Astoria Pool. It has been organized by Central Astoria Local Development Coalition Inc and for sure it has always been our annual agenda. My kids love it!
It's much more manageable for us than the real Macy's 4th of July fireworks where thousands of people are flocking at the same time :). Besides, since 2014, the 4th July was always during Ramadhan.
Last year, however, we manages  to sneak ourselves in for the 4th of July Fireworks in Astoria as well.

Here's my short video of the last part of the fireworks in 2017, when we had the big boom and sparkles. And some smiley faces too.

Astoria Park is indeed on of our favorite parks here in NYC.

Not only that it's so close to our home, it also has a great variety of facilities for families, like children playground, pool, basketball court, jogging track and more. Not to mention stunning view of the East River and 2 bridges, RFK Bridge and Hell's Gate bridge.

And this yearly celebration can be put in your agenda because it's fun and free indeed .

Do you like fireworks as well?

How do you celebrate 4th of July?