Dharma Bakti Monastery Gears Up to Welcome Chinese New Year

Ahead of the Chinese New Year 2575 celebration which falls on February 10, 2024, the Dharma Bakti Monastery located on Jalan Kemanggisan III, RT 03/01, Glodok Urban Village, Taman Sari Sub-district, West Jakarta is starting to clean up and decorate the temple area with distinctive ornaments, which is dominated by red.

We have been preparing for the past few days to welcome the Chinese New Year celebration

Henny (21), a Staff of Dharma Bakti Monastery said that it had become a tradition before Chinese New Year that they held clean-up actions and decorated the temple area.

"We have been preparing for the past few days to welcome the Chinese New Year celebration, which falls on February 10, 2024," she expressed, Friday (2/2).

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She explained the cleanup action at the monastery, which was founded in 1650, involved 20 janitors and monastery administrators. The areas cleaned were on the second floor for prayer and then continued to paint all the buildings, stairs, and statues, which are dominated by red and white paint.

"As for decoration, we put up lots of small to medium-sized red lanterns in the outside and inside areas of the temple," she explained.

She hoped that the congregation who will celebrate Chinese New Year at Vihara Dharma Bakti would feel safer and more comfortable when worshiping.

Asuk Wahyudi (47), One of the congregants who was visiting the Dharma Bakti Monastery admitted that he felt more comfortable when praying because currently, the condition of the monastery was much cleaner and neater.

"Indeed, it's a tradition that before Chinese New Year the monastery must be cleaned up for the convenience of the congregation," he stated.