Most Westerners open the New Year in revelry, in contrast, the Balinese open their New Year in silence. This day is called Nyepi Day, the Balinese day of Silence, this year on the 9th of March 2016.
One day before Nyepi, according to custom, the evil spirits are driven away by the local people who make massive papier-mache effigies of the evil spirits called ‘Ogoh Ogoh’. The Ogoh Ogoh are then paraded through the towns and villages. In the evening the Ogoh Ogohs are ceremoniously burnt, followed by dancing, drinking and feasting.
On Nyepi Day, every street is quiet – nobody is doing their normal daily activities. The whole island, populated by over 3 million, stays in their own houses, keeping the light to a minimum, turning down the radio and TV and, of course, doing no work at all. Nyepi is a day intended for self-reflection and anything that might disturb this is not allowed.
