T

housands of Indonesians of Chinese descent the thronged Dharma Bakti Temple in Petak Sembilan, Glodok, West Jakarta, to pray for a prosperous Chinese New Year 2566, despite the incessant rain that poured on the capital on Thursday morning.

Dian Donawati, 45, a resident of Pluit in North Jakarta, said even a full day of rain would not stop her from visiting the capital'€™s oldest temple. She believed that the rain was a sign of a good fortune for the year to come.

'€œIt'€™s a good thing to have rain today, I wish my family will be blessed with much fortune and I also hope Jakarta can be a safer city,'€ Dian told The Jakarta Post. She looked enthusiastic, although her eyes had turned red and appeared to be irritated by thick smoke from the burning incense in the temple.

She said that before she went home, she was going to buy 45 sparrows, a figure that represented her age. Dian said by doing so, she hoped that her pig sign would be a good match with the Year of the Wooden Goat.

'€œReleasing the birds is a ritual and also a sign of releasing problems and bad luck for the upcoming year,'€ Dian said.

The sparrows, each costing Rp 2,000 (15 US cents), were available to purchase in front of the temple.

Bird sellers were not the only people who looked for fortunes from the prayers. Dozens of children also flocked to the courtyard to rent out their umbrellas to visitors, although some of them had stopped offering the service and started playing in puddles of water.

Meanwhile, in the front courtyard of the temple, hundreds of beggars of various ages waited to ask visitors for some money.

Yuliana, a 76-year-old temple visitor who came with her son all the way from Bogor, West Java, said visiting the Dharma Bakti Temple had become her family tradition during every Chinese event, like the Chinese New Year, or Imlek, and Cap Go Meh, which was observed on the 15th day after Imlek.

She added that this year she prayed for a healthy family and a prosperous year and hoped that her family'€™s business would grow stronger than last year.

'€œThank God it is raining! I hope my children will be provided with good health this year and their businesses can get better and better,'€ she said.

Meanwhile, the Amurva Bhumi Temple in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, served free halal meals to its visitors.

Suleman, the temple'€™s administrative assistant, said, like in previous years, most of the prayers came on the evening before the Lunar New Year.

'€œLast night, we served more than 600 people in this temple,'€ he said.

The temple had been decorated with various ornaments, including giant candles in front of and inside the temple, which according to Suleman was also a symbol of prosperity.

Suleman said the meals in the Amurva Bhumi Temple were prepared not only for prayers, but also for visitors of the temple. Therefore, they decided to serve fish and chicken, instead of pork or any meals that were restricted for Muslims.

'€œEvery visitor is welcomed and served with food. We want to have a good relationship with each other regardless of their religions,'€ he said.

Suleman said further that he was grateful that this year'€™s Imlek could be celebrated peacefully and almost every temple was protected by police. He said the uneventful celebration was proof that residents of Indonesia had become more tolerant.

Imlek was first celebrated as a national holiday in 2003 after it was banned during the 32-year rule of the late Soeharto.

'€œI am grateful that now we can hold Imlek every year,'€ Suleman said.

Meanwhile, the management of the Sin Tek Bio Temple in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, distributed 3.5 tons of rice to a number of orphanages and social institutions on Wednesday.

'€œThis donation came from our followers and we just distributed it to the people who need it,'€ Santoso Witoyo, the temple administration officer, said as quoted by Antara news agency on Wednesday.

He added that the donations were a tradition that expressed gratitude for the fortune the givers had received throughout the previous year.

Other temples outside the capital city also celebrated the Lunar New Year peacefully. In Bogor, the Dhanagun Temple located on Jl. Surya Kencana was opened for 24 hours for prayers.

In a bid to provide a peaceful Imlek, the Jakarta Police deployed as many as 3,230 officers to 150 locations throughout the capital city.

'€œWe deploy officers in every vihara,'€ Jakarta Police spokesperson Martinus Sitompul said on Tuesday, adding that it was the first time the Jakarta Police had deployed such a large number of officers to secure the Chinese New Year.