« Food of the Week – Dragonfruit | Home | Going Postal »
Happy Birthday Singapore!
By jeni | August 10, 2008
Well yesterday, 9 August, was Singapore’s 43rd birthday. Kind of like July 4th is a big deal back home, National Day is huge here in Singapore. I mean huge. There is a parade that is nationally televised and the fireworks show is allegedly one of the best in Asia. Of course we didn’t see it because the parade is virtually impossible to get tickets for, especially if you are not a permanent resident, so we decided not to venture down to Marina Bay and brave the crowds. Instead, we went to Holland Village with friends and ate Mexican food! Happy National Day Singapore!
One of the funniest//most endearing parts of National Day is that every year to accompany National Day, there is a national song. This song and it’s video are played on TV from about the end of July through mid-September. It’s meant to engender pride in Singapore. It also reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from the ever-so-fabulous Grease 2.Â
Don’t ya just love it? Now, after watching that, check out “Shine for Singapore,” which John and I sing to each other all day long. It’s kind of awesome that Singapore puts this much effort into a national song that most of its citizens will like (there is a Chinese version as well), and it really does try to encourage it’s citizens to be good people. It’s also, ummmm, quite catchy. Just listen and see if you can keep yourself from singing along.Â
Shine for Singapore indeed!
Topics: culture clash, Holland V, neighborhoods | No Comments »
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.