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PRESIDENT Joko Widodo (Jokowi), in his Chinese New Year’s greetings, encouraged residents to celebrate cultural diversity and enhance the spirit of brotherhood among each other.
“Starting the Wood Dragon year in 2024, let us together celebrate our cultural diversity, which enriches our brotherhood and cooperation among each other,” as conveyed through the Instagram Reels broadcast on the president’s official page @jokowi, as observed here, Saturday (02/10), 2024.
The Chinese community believed that according to their zodiac cycle, 2024 will be the year of the Wood Dragon, while 2023 was the year of the Water Rabbit.
Jokowi expressed hope that the spirit of bravery and keenness to achieve success will deliver the Indonesian nation to a hopeful future and prosperity for all.
The president also conveyed his well wishes to the Chinese Indonesian community and all other residents who celebrate the occasion.
“Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy Chinese New Year 2024. I hope the Year of Wood Dragon will bring luck, prosperity, and happiness to all the Indonesian people,” he stated in the Reels’ caption.
The Instagram Reels, uploaded to the official account on Saturday noon, garnered more than 52 thousand likes and more than 1.4 thousand comments, some of which were well wishes from social media users, as of 2 p.m. Jakarta time (UTC +7).
Chinese New Year’s Day has been openly celebrated in Indonesia since Abdurrahman Wahid’s presidency from 1999 to 2001. A presidential decree issued by President Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2002 officially made the day a national holiday. [antaranews]
