Singapore Hotels & Malaysia Hotels
About Singapore Malaysia

THE CLIMATE 2

New Year's Day. The first day of the calendar year is celebrated in Singapore by all races and religions. New Year's Eve in Singapore is always cause for parties and celebrations similar to those in the West. Look for special events and parties at restaurants and nightclubs, but don't expect to find a lot of taxis around when you need one! January l. Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year. If you want to catch the biggest event in the Chinese calendar and pretty much the biggest in Singapore, come during the Chinese New Year celebrations, which include parades and festivals. Two days, late jail uary/early February.
Thaipusam Festival. If you're lucky enough to be in Singapore during this event, you're in for a bizarre cultural treat. This annual festival is celebrated by Hindus to give thanks to Lord Subramaniam, the child god who represents virtue, youth, beauty, and valor. During Thaipusam, male Hindus who have made prayers to Subramaniam for special wishes must carry kavadis in gratitude. These huge steel racks are decorated with flowers and fruits and are held onto the men's bodies by skewers and hooks that pierce the skin. Carrying the kavadis, the devotees parade from Sri ferumal. Temple in Little Iwii.i m C;hettiar's Temple on 7ank Is,,.vl, where family members rcwnvc the heavy structures. lur m ulrlitional spectacle, they will yiurce their tongues and check, with skewers and hang fruits fnm hooks in their flesh. The deve,tcc, have all undergone strict dic( md prayer before the festival, and ii is reported that, afterward, nw ~L~Lars remain. Late January/early I cl)i -uary.

Hari Raya Puasa. Hari Raya Puasa marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting during daylight hours. During Ramadan, food stalls line up around the Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam, ready to sell Malay and Indian food at sundown. It's a 3-day celebration (though only the lst day is a public holiday) of thanksgiving dinners, and non-Muslims are often invited to these feasts, as the holiday symbolizes an openness of heart and mind and a renewed sense of community. During the course of the three evenings, Geylang-the neighborhood centered around Geylang Road-is decorated with lights and banners and the whole area is open for a giant pasar malam, or night market. Late January/early February.\Mar±.hWlariiGood Friday. Churches and cathedrals hold special services on this Christian holiday to remember the crucifixion of Christ. St. Joseph's on Victoria Street holds an annual candlelight procession. Late March/ early April.Qing Ming (All Souls' Day). Qing Ming, or All Souls' Day, was originally a celebration of spring. On this day, Chinese families have picnics at ancestral graves, cleaning the graves and pulling weeds, lighting red candles, burning joss sticks and "Hell Money" (paper money whose smoke rises to the afterworld to be used by the ancestors), and bringing rice, wine, and flowers for the deceased in a show of ancestral piety. Early April.
1 2 3 4 5 6