Imlek in Indonesia’s official and community calendars

Imlek and Kongzili

Imlek is the familiar Indonesian name for Chinese New Year and the calendar associated with it. Kongzili (孔子历) identifies a year-numbering convention honouring Kongzi, or Confucius. Indonesia’s official 2026 holiday calendar calls the occasion Tahun Baru Imlek 2577 Kongzili, meaning Chinese New Year, 2577 Kongzili. It falls on February 17, 2026. The two year numbers name the same occasion in different systems.

The Kongzili convention takes Confucius’s traditional birth year, 551 BCE, as its reference. Under this numbering, the New Year beginning in Gregorian 2026 is labelled 2577: 2026 + 551 = 2577. This is a commemorative era used in Indonesian Confucian practice, rather than a continuous year count shared by every Chinese calendar throughout history.

The underlying calendar is lunisolar. Its year begins on the first day of the first lunar month, so the Kongzili year does not change on January 1. The label 2577 therefore applies to the lunisolar year beginning on February 17, not to the whole of Gregorian 2026. An invitation can use both numbers without giving two different dates for its celebration.

A season of observances

Imlek celebrations extend beyond New Year’s Day. Religious organisations arrange worship and charitable activities, while community gatherings can include shared meals, lion dances and other performances. Preparations and charitable programmes may begin before the holiday. Later gatherings bring together people who could not all meet on the first day.

For Confucian communities, worship gives the season a religious purpose alongside its social activities. Broader cultural celebrations also welcome participants from other religious backgrounds. A public Imlek event may therefore combine a religious service with performances and community hospitality, or concentrate on cultural activities without holding a service. The name of the festival alone does not specify the religious commitments of everyone attending.

Cap Go Meh, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, marks the culmination of the New Year season. In 2026 it falls on March 3. Confucian worship and local community celebrations give this date their own forms. A separately scheduled New Year reception need not fall on Cap Go Meh, even when it is held some time after the first-day holiday.

Holiday dates

Imlek’s public status changed through two important government decisions. Presidential Decision No. 6 of 2000, dated January 17, revoked the 1967 instruction governing Chinese religion, belief and customs. Presidential Decision No. 19 of 2002, dated April 9, designated Chinese New Year a Hari Nasional, or national day. These decisions form part of the history of public recognition of Chinese Indonesian traditions.

The annual holiday calendar distinguishes hari libur nasional, national holidays, from cuti bersama, collective leave. The 2026 schedule places Imlek under both headings on different dates. The collective-leave day precedes New Year’s Day and does not change the lunar anniversary.