To me, I think that the purpose of Chingay 2016 is to bring together people from different races, cultures, countries to perform as one in Chingay. This is shown by the many different races and countries that were performing in Chingay 2016. It showed us the all the cultures that they had. Chingay 2016 helps us to strengthen our relationships between Singaporeans as the performers rehearse and practice together. Not only that, performers get to make friends with people from other countries! I think that it is very meaningful as we rarely have the chance to interact with people from other countries.
The first Singapore Chingay parade was held on 4 February 1973, partly as a result of the ban on firecrackers a year earlier in 1972 as a result of fire hazards. The street parade used to be from Jalan Besar to Outram Park and shifted many times, to Orchard Road (1985), to the Civic District centring at City Hall (2000), then shifted back to Orchard Road again, and many other changes in the location occurred. In 1987, an international flavour was added to the parade when a group from Japan participated for the first time in Chingay! This year, we went to the F1 Pit Building at Marina Bay as a cohort to watch the Chingay parade! The parade will start from the F1 Pit Building before moving on. There are also many countries participating in the Chingay Parade now, and this year, the parade will feature as many 50 contingents with troupes from 10 countries!
Chingay has gone through many changes since the first Chingay, which was not actually in the carnival-like street parade that we are treated to today. Chingay in its original form is very much what has been described as a Hokkien Chinese tradition, once held usually in conjunction with religious festivals with a usual parade of deities, and it is in this form that it is still very much celebrated across the causeway in Johor Bahru on the 21st day of the Chinese New Year. The parade participants were not just the Hokkiens, but also the main dialect groups that made up the immigrant Chinese population. However, it is now an international event, with many countries participating in it. I think that this change might have happened because Singapore is a multicultural society and we should learn to celebrate to together with people of other cultures. Thus, many foreign participants and people in Singapore of other races and cultures were allowed or encouraged to participate.
The parade was truly a sight to behold, with flashing lights on floats, costumes and props, making them stand out in contrast to the dark night sky. I was mesmerised by the sight of people being lifted into the air as they moved about freely in the skies, with nothing but a harness ensuring their safety. I think that they were extremely courageous! Some performances include the LED dragons, the acrobatic performance and much much more! To me, my favourite event is when people were lifted into the sky as they did their performsnce because they dared to go up for their performance and that they were willing to take the risk, even with the many problems that could happen and put their life in danger.
Of course, we cannot forget about the many people who worked behind the scenes, helping to make Chingay 2016 a success.They helped to get the performers' make-up on, and made sure everything went along smoothly. On the day that we were watching, I noticed that there were people up at the top of the floating platform in the sky. It is a dangerous job even with the harness on, and they were there in case any problems arose. Without their help, this Chingay 2016 would not have been a success. Thank you to all the backstage helpers, and everyone else who has worked extremely hard for this parade!
What I really enjoyed about this entire experience, going to watch Chingay as a cohort and having fun together, was something that I really enjoyed, from the bottom of my heart. As we cheered together as the Year 2’16 students of RV, I felt a strong sense of the RV spirit that bonded us together, as we all smiled together, laughed together and cheered as one heart, one mind. It was truly
the best experience I ever had with my class and cohort, and I wish we will be able to do this again in the future!
I think that the organisers have successfully achieved their purpose of bringing all the different cultures and races together. With as many as 10 countries performing in our country's own Chingay parade, the organisers succeeded in bringing people together from all walks of life together as one parade. Friendships were created and bonds were strengthened in this years’ Chingay parade. Together as one, all the performers did their very best for Chingay 2016 and I'm sure they'll do even better for the future Chingay parades!
No comments:
Post a Comment