The document summarizes the history and cultural significance of the annual Chingay parade in Singapore. It discusses how Chingay originated in China and was brought to Singapore by immigrants in the 19th century. It was abolished in 1906 but revived in 1973 as a multicultural celebration featuring thousands of performers from diverse backgrounds. The document reflects on how Chingay brings together Singapore's ethnic groups and displays the country's cultural development and racial harmony. Performers and viewers are impressed by the large scale of the event and how it unites people of different races and generations in a shared tradition.
3. History
Chingay is an annual street parade held in Singapore as part of
the lunar New Year celebrations. The term "Chingay" is derived
from the term 妆艺(zhuangyi), meaning the "the art of
costume and masquerading“. Originally a religious festival with
roots in China, it is believed to be brought to Penang by 19thcentury Chinese immigrants. In Singapore, Chingay processions
are known to have taken place from the 1880s to 1906, when it
was abolished. The modern Chingay parade begun in 1973 and
has evolved over the years into a multi-cultural event including
participants of diverse ethnicities and nationalities.
4. What does it means to us?
It is a day of celebration. It parades the floats
and flags, accompanied by wonderful
contingents. With over 8000 performers,
Singapore Getai "新加坡歌台“, Vibrant Indian
Bollywood-themed Performing Contingent,
Malay Dance-off between traditional and
modern contemporary Malay dances and mass
children ballet display, it includes more of
Singapore’s culture this year.
5. The floats and contingents
The floats and contingents, of course played a big part of
our experience
“I remember starting to cheer when I saw the floats start to parade by”
“There were so many people in the contingents, it must have took a
lot of hard work”
10. When the East meets the West
The diminishing culture
11.
12. Deepest impressions
“I think that the Pole Act Confucians left me the deepest impression as the
poles were really heavy and the performers were trying their best to
balance it. I recalled seeing one of the performers almost loosing the
balance. Fortunately, he was reacted fast and prevented the pole from
falling. From this, I could infer that the performers had practiced a lot since
he was fast enough to react to this unexpected situation.”
-Yi Ki
“I think that the thing that left the deepest impression
was when people danced with the other races. One
example is, when the Chinese dance is performing, you
can notice that there are not only Chinese dancers, there
are also Indian and Malays.”
-Amelia
13. “I think the part where all the races wearing their own traditional clothes left
me the greatest impression because it shows that Singapore is a country with
racial harmony.”
-An Qi
“I think seeing so many performers left the deepest impression, because it
shows us that they are all united as one.”
-Xuan Ying
“I think it was the fact that there were even elders who put in the effort to
perform, some even performing quite difficults steps with smiles on their
faces, it shows how united the performers are.”
-Qian Hui
“I think the number of floats and people left the greatest impression, as so
many people want to take part to show how united Singapore is.”
-Jing Yan
15. “I feel happy because I perform there
with my school mates and then at night we get to see
the fireworks. The other performers also perform interesting stuff.”
- Cassandra Tan , Nan Hua High
16. 网织同心 Knit as one
Composed by 曲: 李偲菘Lee Si Song
Arrangement 编曲: Martin Tang
Lyrics 词: Jay Lim
Malay translation 马来翻译: Ibrahim Hamid
Tamil translation 泰米尔翻译: Vicknesvari Vadivalagan
Vocals 主唱: Hazrul Nizam, Ric Liu, Serene Koong and Vicknesvari Vadivalagan
