Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
36
entered in the events. Contact the STB
for details. July.
Maulidin Nabi.
Muslims celebrate the
birth of the P rophet M ohammed on
this day. Sultan Mosque is the center of
the action for M uslims who come to
chant in praise. July 17.
A
UGUST
National D ay.
O n A ugust 9, 1965,
Singapore separated fr om the F edera-
tion of Malaysia, becoming an indepen-
dent r epublic. P atriotism is celebrated
with a big parade held on a floating
platform in M arina Bay with liv e per-
formances, music, and fir eworks. Tick-
ets are available only through lottery, so
few shor t-term visitors ev er get the
chance to see it live. August 9.
Festival of the H ungry G hosts.
The
Chinese believ e that once a y ear the
gates of P urgatory ar e opened and all
the souls inside ar e let loose to wander
among the living. To appease these rest-
less spirits and prevent evil from falling
upon themselv es, the Chinese burn
exchange round mirrors as gifts to r ep-
resent the moon and symboliz e good
health and success. Today the holiday is
celebrated by eating moon cakes, which
are sor t of like little r ound hockey
pucks filled with lotus seed paste or r ed
bean paste and a salted duck egg y olk.
Children light color ful plastic or paper
lanterns shaped like fish, bir ds, butter-
flies, and, mor e recently, cartoon char-
acters. There's an annual lantern display
and competition out at the Chinese
Garden, with acr obatic per formances,
lion dances, and night bazaars. Late
September/early October.
Birthday of the M onkey God.
In the
Chinese temples, cer emonies ar e per-
formed b y mediums who pier ce their
faces and tongues and write pray ers
with the blood. I n the temple cour t-
yards, you can see Chinese operas and
puppet sho ws. The Tan S i Chong S u
Temple on M agazine R oad, upriv er
from Boat Q uay, is a good bet for see-
ing the cer emonies. Contact the STB
for information. Late S eptember/early
October.
O
CTOBER
/N
OVEMBER
Hari R aya P uasa.
H ari Raya P uasa
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 tasty Malay goodies
at sundown. Hari Raya Puasa is a 3-day
celebration (though only the first day is
a public holiday) of thanksgiving din-
ners, and non-Muslims are often invited
to these feasts, as the holiday symbolizes
an openness of hear t and mind and a
renewed sense of community . D uring
the course of the 3 evenings, Geylang is
decorated with lights and banners and
the whole area is open for a giant
pasar
malam,
or night mar ket. I n 2009 and
2010, the holiday falls in S eptember.
3
joss, hell money , and paper r eplicas of
luxury items, the latter two meant to
appear in the after world for gr eedy
ghosts to use. The main event is on the
15th day of the 7th month of the lunar
calendar and is celebrated with huge
feasts. A t mar kets, altars offer moun-
tains of goodies for hungr y ghosts as
well. Chinese operas ar e per formed
throughout the month to enter tain the
spirits and make them mor e docile.
Nowadays, with Chinese Opera becom-
ing a dying art, a lot of the street perfor-
mances ar e karaoke acts. M id-August/
mid-September.
S
EPTEMBER
The Mooncake and Lantern Festivals.
Traditionally called the M id-Autumn
Festival, it was celebrated to give thanks
for a plentiful har vest. The origins date
from the S ung Dynasty (a.d. 970-
1279), when Chinese officials would
