Today, I will be talking about the special country I lived in, call Singapore! It will be bad if I did not talk about my homeplace!

Anyways, Singapore is a multi-racial country, therefore our culture is really unique as we have four major Ethnic groups: Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians. The multi-racial society is harmonious and racial groups respect one another.

Singapore is much modernized and adapts the life style that of the rest but at the same time, value the traditions being passed down from generations ago.

There had been recorded history hundreds of years ago when it was a quiet fishing village visited by merchants from China and the South-Eastern Asia. The influx of immigrants from various regions since the 16th century populated the island.

Chinese

- The Chinese in Singapore are mostly the descendants of hard laborers of China immigrants from Fujian and Canton provinces in search of better lives. These people were hard working and adapted fast in their new environment and many of them picked up Malay and even Indian Tamil language.

- Although they adopt the local culture and customs, they pass on Chinese traditions which are still observed even today.

- You can get to see Singapore culture of Chinese community at Chinese Heritage Chinatown. In recent years, there is a surge of China nationals working in Singapore.

Malays

The Malays are harmonious people who used to live in kampong (traditional Malays villages) and they are the natives in the region.

They adopt Islamic traditions and customs. They value strong family ties and it is usually demonstrated during Malay weddings and funerals when the extended family come together and provide their help and support to the hosting family.

Geylang Serai houses Malay Village, the best time to come will be during the time of Ramadan.

Indians

- The Indians made up of about 6% of Singapore population. Their colorful culture and wonderful cuisine impress many.

- There are numerous festive events and special prayers held in the Hindu temples all year round.

- Little India along Serangoon Road is the best place to see the Indian culture.

Eurasians

- Eurasians are the descents of intermarriage between Europeans and Asians.

- They are of a relatively smaller community but their contributions to the community are not any lesser than the major ethnic group.

Peranakans

- Peranakas are known as the Straits Chinese. Females are called "Nonyas" and the Males are known as "Babas".

- They are the descendants of Chinese fathers and Batak Women when cross-marriage was common in the 18the century. They have a unique culture which is a fusion of Chinese, Malayan and Europeans.

- One of their most prominent culture is the Peranakan Sarong Kebayas, for example, SIA girls' uniforms.

Ways of Singapore Culture

- There are not many places in the world where you can see people of different ethnic group participate cross-cultural activities almost everyday of their lives.

- One of the best ways to see this is to visit local hawker centres, where groups of working colleagues or students have their breakfast or lunch together.

- A common sight will be seeing a Chinese ordering Malay Mee Siam, an Indian eating Chinese Prawn Noodles and a Malay ordering from an Indian Muslim food stall.

- Another unique Singapore culture is in our spoken language. English is our official language and we speak proper English with visitors.

- You may notice the locals speak a blend of English with a mixture of local languages. We call it "Singlish".

Labels: Posted by Ding Han