Students in Depok seem unfazed by the ban on Valentineâs Day, widely known as affection day
tudents in Depok seem unfazed by the ban on Valentine's Day, widely known as affection day.
The Depok Education Agency issued a circular on Jan. 28 asking schools to prevent students from celebrating Valentine's Day on Sunday as it is not in accordance with Eastern values and culture. The circular instead calls on parents and homeroom teachers to engage with their children and students in joint activities such as recreation to improve harmony and resilience among family members or students.
Rafli Fadlurahman, 16, and Muhammad Nashirul Haq, 15, both students of SMAN 1 senior high school in Depok, said that Valentine's Day celebrations were 'not in accordance with the teachings of our religion' and thus agreed with the ban.
Rafli added that affection did not need a special occasion to be commemorated. 'We should be affectionate every day,' he said.
The Depok SMAN 1 senior high school spokesperson Sutarry said that the school planned to be strict in its monitoring of students' activities. 'They [the activities] should not even include the word Valentine, even though the event may be held with good intentions.'
Sutarry said that the school had never held any Valentine-related events as they were afraid such activities would lead to negative behavior.
'Some non-Muslims students celebrate the event though, but it's outside of the school,' he said.
Yulline I. Souhoka, a teacher at SMA Kasih, one of few Christian private senior high schools in Depok, said that even though the school had yet to receive the circular, they would forbid Valentine-related events that could lead to negative actions.
'But if it is for positive reasons such as worship, that's fine,' Yulline said.
Teresia Heny Octavia, an 18-year-old student who attends SMA Kasih, does not commemorate Valentine's Day for a totally different reason.
'Valentine's Day is actually a commemoration of the death of Saint Valentine. It's not an affection day, that's why I decided not to celebrate it,' she said.
Another student, Bastian Pardos, 18, on the other hand, doesn't celebrate Valentine's Day as he considers it to be part of Westernized culture.
'It's okay if the government has decided to ban schools from celebrating Valentine's Day. I'm not celebrating it anyway,' he said.
On the other hand, Febriyanti Diana, 18, said she celebrated Valentine's Day because it is a day for affection, which she considers to be a positive thing. 'I disagree with the order to ban schools from celebrating Valentine's Day.'
Depok is not the only region in the Muslim-majority nation that has banned the celebration of Valentine's Day.
Tangerang City in Banten has also issued a circular ordering schools to eschew the celebration of Valentine's Day because it is not considered to be in accordance with Indonesian culture.
The ban, however, does not seem to perturb youth in the city, many do not appear to consider affection as something to be commemorated on a single day and instead argue that it should be expressed in daily life.
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The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.
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