I

n western culture, New Year’s Eve (NYE) is celebrated by a party or social gathering with friends, family, or relatives while waiting for the change of the year.

In many big cities, NYE is celebrated with a party in a field or open space like downtown or a city square. Television channels report the events.

How about NYE in Indonesia and Turkey? Both are pre-dominantly Muslim and it is interesting to take a look at both countries.

In Turkey, NYE is celebrated with Christmas decorations on the streets. Turkish people exchange presents on NYE. They celebrate NYE with dinner parties. NYE in Istanbul is centered in crowded places like Taksim, the most crowded street in the world, and Kadikoy.

They have concerts, dances and fireworks. The city government holds charity collection to gather money for the needy.

In Indonesia, NYE is usually celebrated by a tour around the city in motorcycles and cars. Every New Year, special trumpets are made and sold in many places. This trumpet is sounded in streets and amusement parks.

NYE is busiest at Monas and Ancol. At Monas thousands of people celebrate with a concert and fireworks.

In other places like Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, traditional performances like dangdut music and traditional arts are performed.

Both Jakarta and Istanbul celebrate New Year. The trumpet for Indonesia and exchanging presents for Turkey are symbolic of the culture. Both make use of traditional arts like dance and music.

Ahmad Nursalim
Istanbul, Turkey