Indonesia festivals celebrate the country's multi-ethnic background, with celebrations devoted to Hindu, Muslim, secular, and local ethnic traditions. These holidays are only the most prominent ones known - in a country about as wide and twice as populous as the United States, there's bound to be a celebration going on somewhere on any given day!
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Chap Goh Meh in Singkawang
Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images
In West Kalimantan Province, Singkawang's sizeable ethnic Chinese community celebrates Chinese New Year with the keen participation of Malay and Dayak communities as well. The 15th day of Chinese New Year - “Chap Goh Meh” - is particularly cherished by locals, who believe that the gods converge on Singkawang during this time of year.
Beyond the lion and dragon dances, Cap Goh Meh in Singkawang is most well known for its Tatung spiritual mediums, who ward off evil spirits and dispel misfortune by going into trances and performing seeming self-mutilation – piercing skewers through their cheeks and tongues, stepping on swords, and the like.
While the festival occurs all throughout Singkawang, the biggest party takes place in and around the Kridasana Stadium in the middle of the city.
Festival date: Feb. 8, 2020