Besides the big day of religions, Indonesia has some big national days that are not set as a national holiday because of some considerations. There are several important national big days that officially recorded in the presidential decree but rarely known by many people. Those are the facts of Indonesian National Day that might you have never been heard before.
- March 9 is National Music Day
The celebration of National Music Day is celebrated on every March 9. There is a reason why the 9th of March was chosen as National Music Day. It is because 9th March is the birthday of the great composer of Indonesia, Wage Rudolf Supratman. In his biography, Wage Rudolf Supratman was born on 9 March 1903 in Purworejo, Central Java.
During his lifetime, the most recognizable achievement of WR Soepratman was when he created Indonesia Raya song in 1924. The process of creating the song is rumored to take place in Bandung at the time he was 21 years old. That is why the day of his birthday is commemorated as the National Music day. (Read also: Traditional Music of Indonesia)
- Day of National Film Indonesia as the starting point for films in Indonesia
The day of national film in Indonesia is commemorated in every March 30. March 30, 1950 is the first day of shooting the film Darah dan Doa or Long March of Siliwangi. The film is the first directed indigenous director of Indonesian, namely Usmar Ismail. Darah dan Doa is also the production of Indonesian national film company (Perfini), which was also founded by Usmar Ismail. Therefore, March 30 is designated as National Film Day.
- Remembrance day of Asian-African Conference is the longest national day
This longest remembrance day is conducted every year from 17-24 April in Bandung. The Asian-African Conference or Bandung Conference also became an important moment for some countries in the world, especially Asian-African countries. Each year the conference which became the starting point for the abolition of colonialism was always commemorated. (Read also: Traditional Festival in Bandung )
- National Books Day to increase the rate of reading interest
Besides the World Book Day anniversaries that fall every April 23, Indonesia has a National Book Day celebration that is held every 17th in March. This commemoration took place since 2002 which was initiated Minister of Education, Abdul Malik Fadjar.
This date was chosen based on the date of the founding of National Library of Indonesia on May 17, 1980. The book day is often associated with Reading Habits in Indonesia, which in Indonesia is still relatively low. Hopefully by conducting some events in National Book Day, the reading interest of Indonesians would increase. (Read also:
- National Diabetes Day as a health national big day
National diabetes day is held on every April 18. Through the commemoration of National Diabetes, it is expected to grow community awareness of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) disease starting from prevention, character recognition, understanding risk factors, and further treatment. With the understanding of promotive efforts to curative, is expected to reduce morbidity, disability, and death caused by DM.
- National Family Day to create the good generations
Indonesia has a National Family Day that is commemorated on every June 29. Family development becomes very important for the progress of the nation. The family is the first environment known to the child since their birth. Family Development mentions that the family consists of husband, wife and child, husband and wife, father and child, or mother and child. Read also Family Traditions in Indonesia.
- National Veteran Day for the heroes of independence day
August 10 has been designated as National Veterans Day. National Veterans Day is one of the nation’s efforts to appreciate the heroes who have fought for the independence of this country. There are still many veterans whose lives are not prosperous. The task of the country is to continue to pay attention to those who have sacrificed for this nation and country. Do not let any veterans to live poorly without any recognition from the government. (Read also: Indonesian Independence Day Celebrations)
- Remembrance Day Liberation of West Papua
1 May is popular with the National Labor Day. Besides, West Irian is also commemorated on May 1 every year. Trikora Operation (Tri Komando Rakyat) is a 2-year conflict launched by Indonesia to combine the western part of Papua. On 19 December 1961, Soekarno (President of Indonesia) announced the implementation of Trikora in North Square of Yogyakarta. After that, finally West Irian could be liberated from any colonialism.
- National Batik Day as the gift from UNESCO
October 2 is designated as National Batik Day. On this day, all of the Indonesians in some institution have to wear Batik as their outfit. The starting point of the batik day designation is when UNESCO stated that Batik is one of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Since then 2 October is declared as the National Batik day.
Read also:
- National Elderly day to prepare the prosperous life after getting old
As a form of concern and respect for the role and position of elderly in the family and society the Indonesian government declared May 29 as National Day of Elderly since 1996. In an effort to improve family function in empowering elderly to stay healthy and productive and become tough elderly, the government usually will conduct many socialization and seminar.
- National Press Day
The National Press Day is conducted every February 9. It is based on Presidential Decree Number 5 of 1985. President Soeharto’s Decree on January 23, 1985 states that the Indonesian national press has a history of struggle and an important role in implementing development as the practice of Pancasila. The commemoration of National Press day hopefully could be a reflection for the world of broadcasting in Indonesia.
Read also:
- National Day of ear and hearing health that has a unique reason
One of the health commemorations in Indonesia is the National Day of ear and hearing health. It usually held in every 3rd of March. The function is to raise public awareness of ear health and the prevention of hearing loss. The date was chosen because the figure 3.3 illustrates the shape of the ear.
All in all, Indonesia has many big national days that still unfamiliar with you, right? Although all of these national days are not stated as the national holiday, the government and the correlated institution keep making some events to commemorate them.
