Chinese New Year a 3-day holiday but festivities last 15 days. On the eve, family members gather for a reunion dinner which must feature foods with
symbolic meanings. After the reunion dinner, family members would gather and interact. Many Chinese visit jammed-pack Chinatown to soak in the festive atmosphere and shop for last-minute bargains of festive goods. Over the next two days, relatives and friends visit each other bearing tangerines as a gesture of good fortune.
Children and singles receive "hong baos", red packets of "lucky money".
Chingay Procession during the festive season, yusheng is eaten especially on the 7th day which is deemed the "Birthday of Man" - the creation of man. Family members gather around the dish and, on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying out loud auspicious phrases.
Christmas considered the most enchanting time of the year and the holiday spirit sets in weeks ahead of Christmas Day (December, 25). Famed for its Christmas Light-Up, Orchard Road and Marina Bay in Singapore are transformed during this period, by festive street lighting, glorious celebratory arches, brilliant water features and picture-perfect themed sets.
Deepavali also known as the "festival of lights", is a Hindu holiday. Homes are lit with lamps to celebrate the victory of light (good) over darkness (evil). The streets in Little India are decorated with attractive lights and garlands.
Deepavali day Indians start the day by taking an oil bath and offering prayers. This is followed by a visit to the temple and to the homes of relatives and friends. Deepavali is an especially happy time for children, because of the social visits and sweet treats.
Dragon Boat Festival the highlight of this festival are the dragon boat races which take place annually every June and features both local and international rowers. This is also a great time to enjoy traditional rice dumplings and the festival is also known as ‘The Dumpling Festival’.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri marks the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting for Muslims. During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise until sunset. Many Muslims gather at Geylang Serai to break fast because many stalls line the streets with a wide spread of traditional delicacies and other food.
Hari Raya Haji known as the Feast of Sacrifice or Eid Al Adha, Hari Raya Haji marks the end of the Haj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. Hari Raya Haji is celebrated similar to those of Hari Raya Puasa.
Hungry Ghosts' Festival to appease wandering spirits so that they do not wreck havoc on earth. It is believed that the gates of hell are open
throughout the 7th lunar month and ghosts roam freely on earth. During this period, offerings of food, and burnt offerings of paper money and paper replicas of items such as houses, cars and clothes are made to appease the ghosts. These offerings are made in the streets at night, in the hope that the ghosts would be appeased and would not enter their homes and cause disturbances within.
M1 Singapore Fringe Festival a 12-day annual festival of theatre, performing arts, film, dance, visual art, mixed media, music and forum, created and presented by both Singaporean and international artists. Held around the end of January, the festival centre around a different theme each year and it aims to bring the best of contemporary, cutting-edge and socially engaged works to the Singapore audience.
Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. It is also known as the Mooncake or Lantern Festival. Chinatown and the Chinese Garden will be lighted up with an array of lanterns manually constructed by professional lantern-makers from China. Battery-powered lanterns in all shapes and sizes are sold in shops.
Some neighbourhoods organise lantern brigades at night where children walk in a procession with lanterns in their hands.
Singapore Fashion Festival the annual two-week long festival, held between March-April, aims to make Singapore the fashion capital of the Southeast Asian region. The Festival highlights include showcasing international and local designers’
collections, fashion shows, exhibitions and related fashion fringe events.
Singapore Food Festival held annually in July, the Singapore Food Festival is a celebration of local food. Festival highlights include, food carnivals, trails, workshops, as well as joint food- oriented promotions.
Singapore Heritage Fest this festival is an initiative to get to know more about the various cultures in Singapore and their traditions, food, costumes, music, art etc. through a series of exhibitions, heritage tours, culinary events and cultural performances. This is an annual event held in the month of July.
Singapore International Arts Festival an island-wide national celebration of the arts, the Festival offers high quality, free and ticketed outdoor performances in theatre arts, dance, music and visual art. Besides local participants, approximately 70% of the events are put up by international artists. It is usually held in the months of May – June.
Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF) the largest film event in Singapore and one of Asia’s premier film festivals, the SIFF is held in April every year. The Festival screens over 200 international films of all genres, with a focus on groundbreaking Asian cinema. Apart from film screenings, the festival also features workshops, seminars and exhibitions on film-making.
Singapore’s National Day August 9th and the National Day Parade (NDP) is a commemoration of Singapore’s Independence.
Thaipusam celebrated by Hindus to give thanks and make amends for wrongdoings. Some devotees practise self-mortification by piercing their tongues, cheeks and bodies with metal hooks and spikes. These are attached to a large metal frame known as kavadi which they carry on their shoulders. They then walk in a procession from the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Serangoon Road to the Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, accompanied by chanting supporters.
The Great Singapore Sale one of the most popular and much awaited annual events, held every June – July, the Great Singapore Sale is an absolute shopping extravaganza with retailers providing discounts of up to 70% off the usual prices island wide.
Vesak Day celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. On this day, Buddhist monks in the temples chant holy verses. Devotees pour perfumed water over the statue of Buddha, pray and make offerings. They also release captive animals as a sign of respect for all living things.
Buddhists eat only vegetarian food on this day and some temples prepare a vegetarian meal for their devotees.
LITERATURE
The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans in any of the country's four main languages: English, Malay, Standard Mandarin, and Tamil. While Singaporean literary works may be considered as also belonging to the literature of their specific languages, the literature of Singapore is viewed as a distinct body of literature portraying various aspects of Singapore society and forms a significant part of the culture of Singapore.
Fiction writing in English Short stories flourished as a literary form, the novel arrived much later. Goh Poh Seng remains a pioneer in writing novels well before many of the later generation, with titles like If We Dream Too Long (1972) – widely recognised as the first true Singaporean novel – and A Dance of Moths (1995).
Poetry Singaporean literature in English started with the Straits-born Chinese community in the colonial era; it is unclear which was the first work of literature in English published in Singapore, but there is evidence of Singapore literature published as early as the 1830s. The first notable Singaporean work of poetry in English is possibly F.M.S.R., a pastiche of T.
S. Eliot by Francis P. Ng, published in London in 1935. This was followed by Wang Gungwu's Pulse in 1950.
Singapore Children's literature has gained momentum in recent years due to increased interest in the genre generated by the First Time Writers and Illustrators Initiative which discovered acclaimed writers such as Adeline Foo (The Diary of Amos Lee), Jin Pyn (The Elephant and the Tree), Don Bosco (Thor the Greatest), and Emily Lim (Prince Bear and Pauper Bear).
Singapore English Drama a notable poet and novelist, in Robert Yeo, author of six plays, and in Kuo Pao Kun, who also wrote in Chinese, sometimes translating his works into English. The late Kuo was a vital force in the local theatre renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the artistic director of The Substation for many years. Some of his plays, like The Coffin is Too Big for the Hole (1984) and Lao Jiu (1990), have been now considered classics.