Changes were made to the Chingay performances over the years. The reasons why Chingay was held vary as the year goes. The purpose of holding Chingay now can be different compared to why the first Chingay was held in 1973. Then, the government gave the ban on firecrackers and this ban was viewed unfavorably by the people as the ban dampened their festival mood for the Chinese New Year period. The government then decided to address the issue by organizing a street parade to bring back some cheer to the public, thus holding the first Chingay which featured acrobatic acts, lion and dragon dance, stilt walks.
Over the years, Indian and Malay groups were introduced into Chingay and thus making a change to Chingay, and makes good a multicultural one. Also, international groups also started participating in this parade and the parade changed to an evening to night parade, introducing lights and pyrotechnics into the parade, changing the overall feel of the Chingay experience.
I think that the change was made as they wanted to lift up the atmosphere and have other people of other backgrounds join in and celebrate the festival together. Singapore is a multi-racial country, thus the Malays and the Indian communities are welcomed to perform together with the other races. I also think that with people coming from other worlds and them performing with people of different races signifies how special Singapore is , where people of different backgrounds live together in the same country.
Coming back to what I think of the purpose of Chingay , I think that the organizers have fulfilled this purpose, Singaporean of different races volunteered to perform with international groups participating as well. They worked together and performed a great performance, representing the dynamism of Singapore's vibrant and multicultural society.
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