Balinese Temple Ceremony

Every Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or "Odalan", every 210 days according to Balinese Calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesse. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali. There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holliday, such as Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.

The dedication or inauguration day of a Temple is considered its birth day and celebration always take place on the day if the wuku or 210 day calendar is used. When new moon or full moon. The day of course can differ the religius celebration of a temple lasts at least one full day with some temple celebrating for three days while the celebration of Besakih temple, the Mother Temple, is never less than 7 days and most of the time it lasts for 11 days, depending on the importance of occasion.

The celebration is very colorful, The shrine are dressed with pieces of cloths and sometimes with brocade, sailings, decorations of carved wood and some times painted with gold and Chinese coins, very beutifully arranged, are hunging in the four corners of the shrine. In front of shire are placed red, white or balck umbrellas depending which Gods are worsshipped in the shrines.

In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the "umbul-umbul", long flags, all these are prerogatives or attributes of Holiness. In front of the Temple gate put up "Penjor", long bamboo poles, decorated beautifully ornaments of young coconut leaves, rice and other products of the land. 

Most beautiful to see are the girls in their colorful attire, carrying offerings, arrangements of all kinds fruits and colored cakes, to the Temple. Every visitor admires the grace with which the carry their load on their heads.