A multi- cultural land with a blend of Chinese, Malay and Indian ethnic group, Singapore welcomes tourists all round the year. Festivals, religious revelry, sport events, carnivals with bright and rich colour are all on the cards. Come to Singapore and celebrate with a serene and melodious society that respects all religions. Following are the most popular festivals in Singapore:
Chinese New Year
Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/epsos
Chinese New Year is the most awaited festival in Singapore. It is a two week long festival that is celebrated in the month of February, where Chinese families give “Hong Bao”, cash envelopes to unmarried family people. The festival is named after the Singapore River Hong Bao, and a huge fair with incredible variety of cuisines, art culture, mythical creatures, Chinese Gods, artisans and other craftsmen. They are seen flooding the lantern lighted streets of this place. Palm reading and zodiac reading are other attractions of this festival.
Singapore Arts Festival
Singapore Arts Festival is the second most awaited festival of the year. It celebrates art from various supporters of theatre, drama, dance, music and other great talent. The roads are packed with live street performers and international dance stars. If you are a real art fan, come to this festival, which begins in May and remains in full swing for almost a month.
Hungry Ghost Day
As the name says, Hungry Ghost day is a festival of Buddhists and Chinese and is believed to be the time, when ghosts visit earth for a month. These ghosts are pacified with the Chinese operas and to keep the deceased away from the living, people burn joss sticks, incense sticks, candles. Locals create various objects from craft paper such as cars, money and burn them to give away to their ancestors. Various performances take place and the first row in the hall is left empty for the ghosts.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri
Hari Raya Aidilfitri is a mark of a Muslim festival in Singapore and is one of the biggest Muslim holidays. This day is celebrated as the last fasting day of the Ramadan month and is celebrated with streets full of mouth watering treats. The mornings are celebrated by gathering all Muslims at the mosque, where they pray and reunite with their families. Evenings are celebrated with people wearing bright new clothes and enjoying feast. The main areas are the Sultan Mosque and the Arab street which is quite famous for its unlimited variety of food, rainbow biscuits and batik fabrics.
Vesak Day
Vesak Day is the most important festival of the Buddhist community in Singapore. It generally falls in month of May. All Buddhist temples are decorated with flowers, lights and flags. The main attraction of this festival are the vegetarian food fair and mass candlelight march, attended by people who recite sutras and pay their homage to Lord Buddha. Various Buddhist charitable organisations give food to poor, prisoners and various hospitals and this gesture is known as “Dana”.
Singapore celebrates its unique blend of cultures and variety of people throughout the year and this makes Singapore a very popular tourist place amongst other Asian countries.
Comments are closed.