T

he celebration of Independence Day is usually marked with fun and games organized by residents in their respective neighborhoods.

But this year, the capital will likely see another quiet celebration of the day as it falls in Ramadhan fasting month and just a few days before Idul Fitri, or Lebaran, when everyone is busy making homecoming plans.

Some neighborhoods try to keep the festivities of Independence Day that falls on Aug. 17 alive but tone the games down a little so that those who fast will not be too tired because of the fun.

“This year, there will be no fun games like balap karung (sack race), cracker-eating contest or panjat pinang (greasy-pole climbing). The kind of games organized this year will be like adzan competitions and funny walks,” Lani Prawita, a resident of Pondok Kopi, East Jakarta said.

Lani, who is on her local Independence Day celebration committee, said that around two weeks after Lebaran, her neighborhood would organize a similar event to the traditional Independence Day, carried out at the time of the post-Lebaran gathering Halal Bihalal, and would including musical performances and games.

“Many residents may have left for their hometowns by Independence Day, so we decided last week to organize these games,” she said.

This year’s Independence Day will be the third time it has been celebrated during Ramadhan.

During Lebaran, Jakarta turns into a ghost town as more than half of its 10 million residents leave for their hometowns.

According to the state-owned highway company PT Jasa Marga, the peak of the annual exodus will be on Aug. 16.

In some neighborhoods, the celebrations will be canceled due to lack of participants.

“I don’t join the games, but if there’s an Independence Day celebration near my house, I usually go to watch,” said Riani Putri who lives in Gudang Peluru Tebet, South Jakarta.

Besides the games, she enjoys finding various food sellers around the celebration. “Too bad there will be no games and good food this year,” said Riani.

The absence of games and flag-raising ceremonies has led to lower revenue for flag and trophies sellers in the city.

Marzuki, a flag maker and seller in Senen market, Central Jakarta, said he might have to put some red-and-white flags he had prepared a month ago back to the shelves.

“Three or four days before Aug. 17 used to be the busiest time for me with tons of flag orders. But look at here now, there are still a lot of flags on display,” he said.

Marzuki said that there had been no additional orders recently, only his regular customers who ordered the flags two weeks ago.

Asrul M, a trophy seller also in Senen shared similar concerns with Marzuki, saying that business was very slow this year.

Four years ago, he could sell over 300 small trophies in the week before Independence Day. But this year, so far, he’s only sold 60.

“Because it’s fasting month and almost Lebaran, only a handful of people organize fun and games,” said Asrul.