8th Feb, Chingay 2014

For a long time, Chingay was just an event I joy with family members in front of  TV at home during dinner time!

This year, with the invitation of my good friend, May Lan, I went for Chingay Parade and be an audience and enjoyed the life performance from 7pm to 10pm on 8th Feb 2014 with her and her family members.  

Our seats were at G5, section 1, and it was quite near to the next section, where Dr Tony Tan, our presidents and other VIP were.  

I enjoyed the 3 hour event with lots of excitement, and if you miss it, there are video clips and great photos from: 

https://chingay.org.sg/event-highlights

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How I feel about Chingay this year?

Nothing beats the numbers, and I see how numbers count in grand event like Chingay 2014:

I withness in person, the 8,000 multi-racial, international and multi-cultural performers, I am sure it is the first-of-its- kind outdoor community drama.
I was told, it is the grandest opening, with the world longest and largest Batik Art of 360m x 10m presented by 1,000 Performers. I like the grand parade of batik fabric which is so colourful and it is simple, elegant, and have its unique spirit when you see them in rolls and move in a wave and tide-like manner. In this ocean of fabric, there are connection that I can make with others, some how!	Exotic Performances from China, Indonesia, Italy, Korea and Philippines
For the first-time, 4m Giant Artistic Puppets, come closed to us! The energetic multi-cultural youth and the young at heart performances, move me and I just cannot sit still!
It was also the first time Ge Tai (歌台) was performed in Chingay! The last high light was the Grand Finale by 3,000 Performers and 720m of Colourful Knitted Tapestries

"Vibrant floats, dancing dragons, prancing lions, stilt walkers, wushu master, performers of different races in their traditional costumes and many, many more..."

https://chingay.org.sg/about-chingay

Here is the information from the above official web page:

"This National Event is also 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. "

What about the history of Chingay?

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"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.

For its first street parade on 4 February 1973, the PA teamed up with the Singapore National Pugilistic Federation for a grand show in the Year of the Ox, depicting aspects of Chinese culture – dragon and lion dances, martial arts and street opera.

So well received was the first Chingay Parade that the PA made it an annual festival. It celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2012.

Chingay took on a multicultural flavour from 1976.

Today, 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.

In 1987, Chingay featured its first foreign group when the city's main English newspaper, The Straits Times, sponsored four pop singers from Tokyo. Since then, this signature event had extended invitations to international artistes and troupes.

Indeed, for the scores of spectators, the Chingay Parade could well be a treasured glimpse into the different cultures of Singapore and the world. Here age, race, language and creed are no barriers. Here, we celebrate together as one."

Source of information:

https://chingay.org.sg/about-chingay