Reflection on the Chingay Parade [Chuan Yi]

This year,the cohort of Year 2s got the chance to catch a glimpse of one of the rehearsals of the Chingay Parade 2016 on January 30th.Through this event, I was enlightened and to me, it was an eye-opener to the many different aspects that Singapore has. It was an event filled with vibrancy and it definitely left me in thoughts and reflection which I will then be sharing in this blog post of mine.

First of all, some background research as to why the Chingay parade was established. Dating back to 1972, firecrackers were banned in order to prevent fire hazards. Thus, Mr Lee Kuan Yew decided to bring back the festive mood during the Chinese New Year period by holding the first Chingay parade in Singapore which was held on the 4th of February 1973. Ever since then, seeing how the first Chingay was well-received by the crowd, the Chingay parade has become an annual event in Singapore where people from all walks of life gather and celebrate as one.

Next on,I would like to share my thought on the purpose of this year's Chingay Parade. The following is adapted from the website of Chingay Parade 2016:

“Chingay 2016 marks the first year of Singapore's next 50 years towards SG100 and hence, Chingay 2016 is aptly themed, "Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore", celebrating the legacy and wisdom of our founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and other founding fathers based on the core values advocated by them and pledging our support to live by it and move forward together towards a Brighter future Singapore!”

From the above paragraph, I believe that the purpose of this year is to celebrate the 5 core values, contributed by our founding Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and our founding fathers, which attributed to Singapore's success for the past 50 years and to voyage towards the next 50 years,SG 100,and for many more years to come. The theme for this year’s Chingay 2016 is "Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore". From this, I can infer that the “Lights of Legacy”is the 5 core values set by our founding Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and our founding fathers and that we need to look back on these legacies and follow along their footsteps and learn from their good qualities.Eventually, these “lights of legacy” will bring us Singaporeans, and our country Singapore, to a brighter future ahead.

Initially, Chingay was just meant to be a celebration during the Chinese New Year period in order to bring back some festive mood even with the banning of firecrackers.Who knew that it would turn out to be a successful event. Now, the Chingay parade is a parade filled with vibrant performances and floats with their intricate designs and is not simply just some “Chinese New Year celebration” anymore. This year’s Chingay included the value of multiracial appreciation and the appreciation of cultural arts.On the first Chingay Parade,the performers were mostly dressed in red and yellow.Now, the performers wore brightly-coloured costumes which look much more appealing and eye-catching to the audience.Subsequently,as this year’s theme is "Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore", some of the performance items had props,costumes and floats designed with LED lights which shows that the current Singapore is much more advanced in the aspect of technology as compared to how the Chingay parade’s presentation were in the first Chingay parade. Secondly, Chingay parade 2016 included the value of appreciation of cultural arts and a multiracial community.The first Chingay parade was mostly made out of Chinese performers, but now,there are performers from all walks of life, of different races ,different backgrounds. Chingay 2016 has developed into more than just a typical annual Singapore event. 14 international groups from 9 countries are participating in this year’s Chingay parade, allowing the audience to experience a whole new level of racial harmony and nation cohesion and our friendship and partnerships with other countries. I think that these changes were made to let everybody-regardless of race, language or religion to come together to celebrate.

Lastly,have the organisers of Chingay 2016 successfully fulfilled the purpose of Chingay 2016? I personally think that it was successful.

Firstly, "Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore". The props,floats,costumes of the performers were all brightly coloured along with the LED lights which really brings out the “lights” and “brighter” portion. Subsequently,there were floats bringing out messages to the audience such as the one with “Voyage 100” and “Because We Are Different, We Are One”. These bring out the message that Singapore would voyage towards the many more years to come ,to SG100, and that we should learn to appreciate all races and that because of our cultural differences,this is what make us into “One Singapore” The organisers were able to make it a point to highlight the core values of being a part of our nation,as Singaporeans and enhance the sense of belonging and patriotism.The performances lined up were all very engaging and filled with the main gist of the theme of Chingay 2016. There were dance perfromances,colourful floats, breathtaking stunts and many more. With the 5 core values brought up by our founding Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and our founding fathers,Chingay 2016 enable us,Singaporeans and other people from all walks of life watching the Chingay 2016 to envision Singapore in its 100^th year,towards our brighter years and future success.The floats and performances showcased the different cultures and people from all walks of life, with almost 11,000 contingent members and volunteers, such as the PAYM (People's Association Youth Movement) and organisations that we see in Singapore which brings forth the message of having an inclusive community with a society having multicultural-appreciation and national cohesion in our homeland,in Singapore.

         To end this reflection off,I would like to conclude that being able to watch the Chingay Parade 2016 was a fun,fulfilling and enriching experience for me.