Small business owners and customers alike are enthusiastic about the prospect of a restriction-free Lunar New Year.

Customers hunting for Chinese New Year decorations, such as zodiac animal toys, paper cutouts, lanterns and angpau (red envelopes to be filled with money) can be found in large numbers at the Glodok Chinatown Market as preparations continue to welcome the Year of the Water Rabbit, which arrives on Jan. 22. 

Vendors tend to shoppers seeking angpau with illustrations of cute rabbits and other decorations, such as lanterns, coins and artificial flowers, highlighting the highly anticipated festive season.

With the COVID-19 pandemic on the wane, the merchants have been experiencing a boost in Chinese New Year sales this year.

Marzudin, a 28-year-old stall owner, said that in the previous two years, his income from selling Chinese New Year decorations had been much lower than usual, as many families were unable to gather because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The pandemic has left major scars on societies and economies. In 2021, Bank Indonesia (BI) reported that approximately 87.5 percent of Indonesian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) had been affected by the pandemic, with 93.2 percent seeing their sales negatively affected. Many are still recovering. 

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