National Batik Day () is an Indonesian cultural day for celebrating

batik Batik is a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...

– the traditional cloth of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. It is celebrated on October 2 and marks the anniversary of when the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

inscribed batik as a

Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage—such traditions, rituals, dance, and knowledge—and ...

in 2009. At the day, in Jakarta, the map of Indonesian batik diversity by Hokky Situngkir was opened for public for the first time by the Indonesian Ministry of Research and Technology. The Indonesian government strongly encourage Indonesian people (especially government officials, employees of state-owned enterprises, and students) to wear batik annually on the holiday and on Fridays to commemorate the day. Wearing batik every Friday has also been encouraged in private companies.

Background

Because batik is recognized by UNESCO as an Indonesian cultural contribution to the world, Indonesians found it to be a reason to celebrate this traditional fabric and the garments made from it. It started from the meeting from the UNESCO Jakarta team on the journey of how batik came to be included on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) for Humanity and the great meaning and pride it gives to many Indonesian people. A number of batik artisans from

Borobudur Borobudur, also transcribed Barabudur (, ), is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, near the city of Magelang and the town of Muntilan, in Central Java, Indonesia. Constructed of gray andesite-like stone, the temple consi ...

and

Klaten Klaten is a regency (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province of Central Java. Klaten is situated between the two major cities of Yogyakarta to its Southwest and Surakarta (colloqially known as Solo) to its Northeast. It covers an area of and ...

, Central Java, also took part in the celebration and outlined how Batik has now become an important source of livelihood development for them and their communities in the region. The group from Klaten shared inspiring stories on how they grew from 'zero to hero'. Their story takes them from being employed as workers on a low wage for a batik factory to developing their own cooperation of 169 women who have sustainably been able to increase their income by tenfold.

Celebration

Batik is a traditional cloth originating from the island of Java that has roots in the country's historical artwork. In celebration of their culture, Indonesians dress head-to-toe in batik for the holiday. Now, Batik Day is celebrated across a number of platforms all over the world. Particularly, in Indonesian organizations ranging from universities, church groups, and communities all around the world. These Indonesian organizations usually celebrate Batik Day as well in order to create awareness of Indonesia's traditional fabric to other cultures.

References

{{reflist Batik Culture of Indonesia