| Singapore Festivals January THAIPUSAM
This famous Hindu festival has to be witnessed to be believed. In a gesture of penance and seeking forgiveness from the gods, male Hindu devotees make the three-kilometre walk from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple to Sri Thandayuthapani Temple, laden with enormous kavadi, or portable shines. The kavadi is pierced to the devotees' body by spikes and skewers; it is normally borne on the body, and sometimes dragged by the devotee like a chariot. Supporters of the kavadi-bearer gather around him, chanting prayers, clapping and shouting their encouragement along the way.
This fascinating, logic-defying ceremony lasts the entire day, and observers are welcome. February CHINESE NEW YEAR
This is, without a doubt, the most important festival of the Chinese lunar calendar. Also known as the Lunar New Year, this festive period lasts for 15 days and usually falls during the months of January and February. The whole island seems to stop to celebrate this special period, but the liveliest events, of course, are to be found at Chinatown.
The night before the first day of Chinese New Year, Chinese people all over Singapore make it a point to rush home for the annual family reunion dinner, which marks the start of a period of feasting. Chinese New Year cookies such as love letters and pineapple tarts (a Singapore-Malaysia invention), barbecued pork and sumptuous Chinese dinners are usually featured.
Another New Year specialty which originated in Singapore and Malaysia is yu sheng, or raw fish in a colourful bed of salad. The fish symbolises a prosperous life, and each colour in the salad brings a special significance as well. Yu sheng is not meant to be nibbled at demurely, you have to eat it with a whole bunch of people who will all dig in their chopsticks and toss the salad as high as possible. This noisy ritual is called lo hei, and is meant to bring you good health and luck for the rest of the year. If you visit the home of your Chinese friends during this period, bring along a pair of mandarins as a token of good fortune. You will probably get hong baos in return; these are red packets containing money, and are, not surprisingly, kids' favourite part of Chinese New Year. Wish your hosts Gong Xi Fa Cai, it's the traditional greeting during the celebration and means you wish them lots of prosperity and good fortune.
In the weeks running up to Chinese New Year, Chinatown's the place to be. Colourful stalls line the streets, selling everything from red and gold greeting cards to love-letters cookies to pussy willow (a symbol of longevity). You'll smell incense and see little altars everywhere, as the Chinese make offerings to their gods. HARI RAYA HAJI
Muslims celebrate Hari Raya Haji, to mark the pilgrimage of devotees to the holy city of Mecca. This religious festival is celebrated with the sacrifice of animals at dawn, and prayers at the mosque. Muslim families visit each others' homes, and those who have made the all-important pilgrimage are the focus of much attention.
March
QING MING FESTIVAL
Celebrating the Qing Ming Festival, temples are fully packed with Chinese believers who flock there at the crack of dawn. Throughout the day, families wrestle shoulder-to-shoulder amidst thick smoke of burning joss sticks; their hands full with Chinese pastries and all kinds of food and incense for their ancestors. For some, Qing Ming is a trip to the cemetery where family members clean up the graves of their ancestors and offer prayers in remembrance of the deceased. The best place to observe the ceremonies is Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Temple at Sin Ming Road. May VESAK DAY
Vesak Day For Buddhists the world over marks the birthday of the Lord Gautama Buddha. In Singapore, the many followers of Buddha pay a visit to the various Buddhist temples dotting the island for a day of worship and prayer.
Priests in the newest saffron-coloured robes chant blessings and sprinkle holy water at the devotees, and for many Buddhists this is the time to re-dedicate themselves to the central teachings of Gautama - moderation and the release from worldly desires. In many temples, priests will release a flock of doves from a cage, to signify humanity's freedom from earthly bondages.
Priests in the newest saffron-coloured robes chant blessings and sprinkle holy water at the devotees, and for many Buddhists this is the time to rededicate themselves to the central teachings of Gautama - moderation and the release from worldly desires. In many temples, priests will release a flock of doves from a cage, to signify humanity's freedom from earthly bondages. August FESTIVAL OF THE HUNGRY GHOST
For the Chinese, the month of the Hungry Ghosts or Spirits - usually in the month of August - is the most inauspicious time of the year. Taoists believe that the gates of Hell are opened at this time, and the spirits of the departed wander freely about the earth.
Children are discouraged from staying outdoors late at night, it is considered unlucky to buy a piece of property or close a business deal, and some market pundits have observed that even the stock market is quieter during the Hungry Ghosts month. The ghosts are "hungry"after their impoverished time in Hell.
Besides burning huge joss-sticks and candles, Taoist believers offer cakes, fruits and sometimes an entire banquet to appease the famished spirits. Fake paper money - and sometimes even fake paper cars, houses and mobile phones - are burnt so that the dead spirits will have the actual equivalent of these objects in the afterlife. Street shows are also held to appease the hungry souls.
This is a heady time where the air is heavy with tradition and superstition, and is worthwhile paying a visit to Chinatown for. September MOONCAKE FESTIVAL
The Mooncake Festival is also known as the Lantern Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival, and occurs usually in the month of September. It is held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest. In ancient China, it was the celebration of a bountiful harvest in the middle of autumn.
Many romantic legends surround this festival. One tale tells of how the Chinese succeeded in overthrowing the Yuan dynasty through a series of secret messages tucked into round, sweet pastries made of flour, oil and lotus seed - mooncakes. Another legend has it that the moon became the final abode of the legendary Chang Er and her pet rabbit - and on a clear night, one might just see them! Today, these legends live on in the eating of mooncakes - they come in many different varieties now, even "mocha cream" - and the lighting of lanterns. On the night of the festival, children light up brightly-coloured lanterns in the shape of fishes, squirrels or butterflies (the more enterprising have Hello Kitty) and many corners in the suburbs become a regular fairyland of lights.
In the streets of Chinatown, the stalls are stocked with mooncakes and other tidbits, and events such as bonsai competitions and tea-making demonstrations. This is also the ideal time to go for an evening stroll in the Chinese Gardens in Jurong - hundreds of Chinese lanterns adorn the park, making for a very pretty sight indeed. October DEEPAVALI
Deepavali, the most important date of the Hindu calendar, occurs on one day during October, and in the ethnic quarter of Little India, the festivities last practically for the whole month of October.
Deepavali is the Festival of Lights, and marks the defeat of the evil Narakasura by the Lord Khrishna. All round the world, Hindus celebrate this day as the triumph of light over darkness, and of good over evil. It marks the New Year for Hindu devotees, and is a great time of rejoicing and renewal.
During this time, Little India throbs with evening roadside stalls, booming music and strings of colourful lights. Shoppers throng the streets in search of the perfect sari to wear, or to fill their baskets with Indian foods and spices. Hindu homes are lighted with oil lamps, and offerings of sweetmeats and garlands of jasmine are placed at the family altar.
The streets and temples of Little India are lit up with streamers and fairy lights lining the streets and forming arches and gateways to the night bazaars.The Sri Veeramakaliamman, Sri Vadapathira Kaliammanand and Sri Srinivasa Perumal temples are garlanded in lights as the whole of Serangoon Road glitters to welcome the New Year.
Campbell Lane, meanwhile, takes on the mood of a street carnival for 21 days. The Deepavali Festival Village features stalls offering Indian costumes, jewelry, foods, furniture and arts and craft. Every evening except on Sundays, right up to the even of Deepavali, local and foreign artistes perform South and North Indian songs and dances. THIMITHI
This famous Hindu fire-walking ceremony brings out the devotees and the tourists alike. On October 16 at the Sri Mariamman Temple in the centre of Chinatown, Hindu devotees walk across a four-metre pit of red-hot coals in honour of the bravery of the goddess Draupadi. They complete the fire-walking ceremony, a test of endurance and faith, walk miraculously unhurt.
|
