Galungan, the celebration of which is calculated according to the 210 day Balinese calendar, falls this year on the day after Christmas and will extend through 10 days, ending in Kuningan. This long holiday celebrates the victory of dharma over adharma--good over evil. During this time, ancestral spirits visit the earth. Babi guling, a spicy pork and mixed rice dish, serves the role of turkey and stuffing, and the ten days are punctuated by feasts, ceremonies and temple observances. It is, essentially, the Balinese Christmas, and so people have been very busy with two big holidays in a row. My friend, Oming, tells me there is a village you can go to and, if you're a bule, you will get a free meal of babi guling. I wish I knew where it was! Many of the food warungs are closed during Galungan/Kuningan, so you have to get the goods from local families and events.
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