Mudik is an Indonesian term that captures the essence of the annual tradition of people returning to their ancestral homes during the Eid al-Fitr holidays.
As I opened my window that morning, I couldn’t help but notice how different Jakarta’s sky appeared. It was blue and clear, a stark contrast to the usual clouded sky, tainted by pollution.
With just a week before Eid El-Fitr, it seemed that most Jakartans had already started their annual “pilgrimage” to their hometowns, mudik.
This celebration marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, and is typically spent with family and friends. It’s reminiscent of Thanksgiving in the US, New Year's in China, or Diwali in India.
After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and the “transition” year of 2022, mudik in 2023 might reach its full volume, with an estimated 123.8 million people on the move, including 18.3 million from Greater Jakarta.
