On 30th of January, I was one of the lucky audience siting at the F1 Pit building, watching the most spectacular street performance I have ever witnessed. There were fireworks, many colourful floats and aerial performance. It was the most grand, most interesting and most meaningful street performance I have ever seen. Thats right, I am talking about the 'Chingay Parade 2016'
This year's Chingay is themed "Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore" as 2016 marks the first year of Singapore's next 50 years. I think the purpose of Chingay 2016 was to remember the values that were fostered by our pioneer and that we should remember to possess theses values for a better and brighter future for Singapore. It is also to tell us to appreciate the different races and their differences and that we need to live together in harmony for a better Singapore.
The first formal chingay parade in Singapore was mooted by the then-Prime Mister Lee Kuan Yew to compensate for the ban of firecrackers which was was a customary New Year practice to drive away evil spirits. However, from 1976, Chingay took a multicultural flavour. Today, the Chingay parade shows a glimpse of the different cultures of Singapore and that no matter the race or language, we celebrate together as one.
I think the organizers successfully fulfilled this purpose. For watching the parade, I could see the differences of the different races in Singapore and their iconic features. I also learnt that because we are different, we are one big family. All of us, no matter the race or language we speak, we should work together for a better Singapore. There were floats for each race which shows the iconic elements of each race. There were performers wearing the costumes of the different races celebrating together. The participants and volunteers were all of different races too.
Thus, I think Chingay was a once in a life time experience for me as it was amazing and very meaningful.
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