Celebrate Kuningan in Bali in May - AsiaRooms.com

AsiaRooms.com can reveal that guests staying at hotels in Bali in May could find themselves caught up in a number of festivities, concluding with Kuningan on May 22nd.

This holiday brings the ten-day Galungan festival period to a close and is considered to be one of the most important days of the celebrations.

While many of the Galungan festivities are open to the public, the Kuningan is generally considered to be a private affair and most Balinese mark the occasion in their home or family temple.

During the Kuningan, special offerings of yellow rice are made as the Balinese people bid farewell to their deified ancesters, who are believed to return to heaven ten days after the beginning of Galungan. Temples across Bali are specially decorated for the event, which celebrates the triumph of good over evil.

While holidaymakers may be disappointed that the Kuningan festivities are largely a private affair, they can rest assured that the day after the religious ceremony is marked as a holiday, designated for having fun and visiting friends and loved ones.

If they are fortunate enough to attend a temple ceremony, holidaymakers are advised to always wear a sarong and sash, avoid sitting higher than the offerings or the priest and to never use flash photography.

Kuningan and Galungan are marked by the Balinese calendar, which uses a 210-day cycle. The next Kuningan ceremony is to be held on December 10th 2010.