For more news visit ☛ http://english.ntdtv.com or
Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision
Although the 2562 Lunar New Year falls in February, the atmosphere of welcoming the year of the rabbit is catching on among Indonesians. Many shopping centers are starting to hold various activities to attract visitors to their shopping center. We take you now to one of these centers.
The executives of Jakarta’s Emporium Pluit play cymbals to accompany the lion dance, marking the second anniversary of this shopping center (January 16).
It’s also the opening ceremony of Disney’s “Winnie The Pooh Double Happiness" event series to welcome the 2562 Lunar New Year on February 3rd.
The mall celebration features the multi-talented Agnes Monica, the sensational singing hostess of last year’s 38th American Music Awards (AMA) in Los Angeles.
Thousands of visitors and fans crowd the shopping center and applaud her singing.
Some are singing along with her while others are capturing the image of Indonesia’s "Best Female Singer 2010" with their camera phones and camcorders.
In a separate interview, the Indonesian artist conveys her personal Lunar New Year message to encourage people.
Based on studies done at Trisakti University in 2010, Jakarta is the city with the most shopping centers in the world.
In 2010, the Jakarta government noted that 170 shopping centers were operating in Jakarta.
Indonesian Chinese have only been allowed to celebrate the Lunar New Year since 2000.
That was when late President Abdurrahman Wahid repealed the decree passed by his predecessor Suharto in 1967, banning the ethnic Chinese from celebrating their New Year in public.
Suharto's policy suppressed or strongly discouraged many aspects of Chinese culture, including the use of the Chinese language or names.
Minority ethic Chinese make up three percent of Indonesia's 237.6 million population.
NTD News, Jakarta