Sharing Joy in Surakarta’s Grebeg Sudiro Celebration

In Surakarta Central Java, Imlek (Chinese New Year) is a joint celebration. Residents enthusiastically welcome Grebeg Sudiro, an annual cultural carnival symbolizing the integration of Chinese and Javanese communities.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Residents fight over the basket cakes which are distributed by throwing them from a height during the Grebeg Sudiro tradition in front of Pasar Gede Hardjonagoro, Solo, Central Java, Sunday (19/1/2020). This event is held every year ahead of the Chinese New Year celebration as a form of cultural acculturation of various ethnic communities in Solo City.

A drizzle on Sunday (15/1/2023) failed to deter residents from joining the Grebeg Sudiro carnival as a customary event ahead of Imlek.

Carnival participants were lining up on a roadside. They comprised 56 groups with a total of 2,000 people. The public segments participating were quite varied, not only residents of Sudiroprajan subdistrict, Jebres district, as the organizer of Grebeg Sudiro.