CHINGAY PARADE 2016- "lights of legacy, brighter Singapore"

Let me have a brief introduction on what I know about Chingay parade first. Chingay which is also known as the National event, is the largest street performance and float parade in Asia. From the main parade site to the heartlands, this street extravaganza epitomises the dynamism of Singapore's vibrant and multicultural society. The word Chingay is equivalent to the Mandarin zhuang yi (妆艺), which means "the art of costume and masquerade" in the Hokkien dialect. The first formal Chingay parade in Singapore was mooted by the then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who was also the chairman of the People's Association (PA). Chingay, with all its noise and gaiety, would compensate for the ban on firecrackers, a customary New Year practice to drive away evil spirits.

Chingay has become a uniquely Singaporean Lunar New Year tradition, held during the first weekend of the Lunar New Year. This yearly street parade is now a national festival, celebrated by Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians alike. 

The official theme for Chingay parade 2016 is "lights of legacy , brighter Singapore". It is inspired by the legacy of Founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and the values embodied by pioneers such as racial harmony, social cohesion, caring community, resilience as a nation, can-do Singapore spirit and uphold high moral values. 

Chingay 2016 represents our first step towards SG100 after our milestone SG50 celebrations where Singaporeans from diverse backgrounds come together to celebrate core values important to Singapore. Together we celebrate these values that have transformed us from a fishing village into a modern metropolis and bring us forward into the future with confidence.

I think the Chingay organizers has achieved their purpose of bonding people from different cultures and races as all of us who went to watch the Chingay rehearsal have seen the multiculturalism. The organizers have also successfully included people of all age groups, from kids as young as 7 years old to old retirees.

I am really thankful to the performers who put up this performance for us to enjoy and took off time and put in effort to rehearse. I would also like to thank the volunteers who helped out backstage and as ushers because they were willing to sacrifice their time to make Chingay a success.

If I had to choose my favourite performance, it would definitely be the lights of legacy. This performance involved 3,000 performers lighting-up Singapore's city skyline with bright bulb-shaped Sky Lanterns that carries the commitment of our people, towards the values advocated by our founding father, towards a Brighter future Singapore! I am very touched and impressed at the same time. Glancing through the drawings of our citizens drawn I can understand how much we aprreciate our country, Singapore. All the beautiful lights hanging around indeed matches the theme for this year "legacy of light". I am really honoured to be able to witness this whole impressive parade. This personal experience was meaningful and fun. It made me even more proud to be a Singaporean and if I ever had another chance to participate this event, I would definitely bring along my friends and family to watch it with me or even become a part of the Chingay peroformancers and perform during this annual event. Thank you!!