Independence Day is a national holiday in Indonesia commemorating the anniversary of the Indonesia's Proclamation of Independence on 17 August 1945. It was made a national holiday by then-President Sukarno in 1953. Ceremonies and festive events are held throughout the country to celebrate this national day, including flag hoistings, local games and neighbourhood competitions, patriotic and cultural parades. Discounts are offered by participating shopping centres or businesses. On this day, all Indonesian national televisions broadcast the National Independence Day Ceremony live from the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. Televisions also often air Indonesian patriotic songs, nationalistic-themed films, advertisements, and talkshows.
A national formal flag hoisting ceremony is held at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, hosted by the current Indonesian President to reenact the declaration of independence proclaimed by Sukarno in 1945, held in 10.00 a.m, and is broadcast nationwide on radio and television. Certain distinguished guests and VVIPs are invited to attend, including ambassadors and diplomatic guests, former Indonesian presidents, vice presidents and ministers, prominent figures in Indonesian politics, the economy and business, cultural figures including artists and celebrities, and veterans. The declaration is read on this day in public by a representative of the legislative branch. A national flag lowering ceremony is held later on in the afternoon at the grounds of the palace.
''Tujuhbelasan'' celebrations
Independence Day is an important public holiday in Indonesia, and is celebrated by Indonesian people in their cities and villages, and also abroad. Colloquially known as tujuhbelasan or 17-an which means "seventeenth" in Indonesian, it is a joyous celebration, as after the flag ceremony in the morning, in the afternoon people usually organise various games and competitions for children and adults. Traditional games and competition usually held during tujuhbelasan are:
Hitting the kendi terracotta jar blindfolded, similar with piñata
Slow bicycling
Balloon bursting
Balloon dance
Searching for coins in flour
Orange dance
Inserting thread into needle race
Colouring competition
Catching the eel race
''Karnaval Kemerdekaan''
On Independence Day, parades or carnivals, take place on streets in cities and villages across the nation. They might take the form of a modest carnival, organised by local people, where children and sometimes adults wear patriotic clothes, or traditional ethnic costumes. Some larger parades might be held and organised by provincial, regency or municipal governments, staged in main thoroughfares of cities. The national main parade called does not usually take place on 17 August, but on the Sunday morning following the anniversary. The parade and carnival usually feature marching bands, decorative floats, patriotic parades and cultural carnivals featuring traditional costumes of various ethnic groups of Indonesia. They usually start in Merdeka Square by the National Monument, parading through capital main avenues; Thamrin and Sudirman avenues, passing Selamat Datang Monument and the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex. In recent years however, the main national carnival has not been staged in the national capital, but in provinces with regional cities taking turns hosting this national event. In 2017, for example, the national independence carnival was staged in Bandung, West Java.
