As its name suggests, Little India is the heart of Singapore’s Indian community. Bordered by Selegie Road and Lavender Street, Little India’s main stretch of commercial activity can be found along Serangoon Road, which was labelled “Road leading across the Island” ...
The Javanese are one of the larger Indonesian ethnic groups that migrated to Singapore in various waves starting from the early 19th century. People of Javanese ancestry in Singapore are now regarded as part of the larger Malay/Muslim community.
The Sikh community is one of the smallest ethnic groups in Singapore and is usually considered part of the larger North Indian community. According to the 2010 census, there are about 12,952 Sikhs in Singapore. The Sikhs first came to Singapore in 1819 as sepoys, ...
The Eurasian community is a small but influential ethnic group that has been present in Singapore since the early 19th century. Eurasians are persons with mixed European and Asian lineage. Most Eurasians in Singapore can trace the European part of their ancestry ...
The Armenians are a small ethnic community who established themselves in Singapore, with no more than 100 Armenians ever living here at any given time. Vestiges of the importance of this community can be seen in the presence of place-names such as Armenian Street ...
Racial Harmony Day is an annual event held on 21 July to commemorate the communal riots of 1964 and teach students the importance of maintaining racial and religious harmony in Singapore’s multicultural and multi-ethnic society. It was launched in 1997 as part ...
Joo Chiat is an area located in the eastern part of Singapore that is known for its multi-cultural heritage. It derived its name from a number of roads in the area named after plantation owner and philanthropist, Chew Joo Chiat. In the early 20th century, significant ...
Chinatown is an estate located largely in the Outram area in the Central Region of Singapore. In his 1822 master Town Plan, Sir Stamford Raffles allocated the whole area west of the Singapore River for a Chinese settlement known as the Chinese Campong (kampong ...
Navaratri, meaning nine (nava) nights (ratri), is a festival celebrating the Hindu goddess Shakti, in all her different manifestations and glory. It is a popular festival that originated from India and is celebrated by Indians all over the world. In Singapore, ...
Zhong Yuan Jie (中元节), also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, traditionally falls on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. In Singapore, the festival is observed throughout the entire seventh lunar month, which is usually around the month of ...
The Mid-autumn Festival (or Zhong Qiu Jie in Mandarin), also known as the Mooncake Festival, falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. It is called the Mid-autumn Festival because the 15th day is the middle of a month, and the eighth lunar month is in the ...
Deepavali, or Diwali (literally translated as “a row of lights”; also known as the Festival of Lights), is a festival celebrated by Hindus worldwide. The festival falls on the 14th day of the dark fortnight in the Tamil month of Aipasi (mid-October to mid-November), ...
The dragon dance, also known as longwu (龙舞) or longdeng (龙灯), is a traditional Chinese dance performance involving a team of performers using poles to rhythmically move a dragon prop. The dance is performed during Chinese festive celebrations such as Lunar New ...
Sabar Menanti is a well-loved Malay restaurant serving authentic Minangkabau (from West Sumatra, Indonesia) dishes. The restaurant is aptly named Sabar Menanti, for in English it means “wait patiently”, which one has to do as the queue to get to the food in this ...
Ponggal or Pongal, also known as Makara Sankranti, is celebrated in mid-January by South Indians as a festival marking the rice harvest. Pongal, a mixture of sweet boiled rice is made and offered to Surya, the Sun God. The name is derived from the Tamil word pongu, ...
Chinese New Year is celebrated by most Chinese in Singapore. The first day of the lunar new year usually falls between the winter solstice (dongzhi) and spring’s beginning (lichun). This typically falls between 21 January and 20 February each year.
Chingay is an annual street parade held in Singapore as part of the Lunar New Year celebrations. The term “Chingay” is derived from the Hokkien Chinese term 妆艺, which means “to decorate a frame with incense and boys dressed as girls carried in processions”, according ...
A South Indian restaurant famous for its fish head curry served on banana leaves. Established in 1969 at Race Course Road, it had expanded from a self-manned stall to a swanky restaurant that provides dine-in as well as catering services for big events.
Thaipusam is a temple festival celebrated by Hindus of Tamil descent in Singapore. It is probably the single most important public rite observed by the community every year between January 14 and February 14. Most Hindu festivals fall either on full moon day (Punarpusam) ...
Ketupat is a diamond-shaped rice cake. This Malay food staple is made of cooked rice compressed and wrapped in woven coconut leaves. Originating from Indonesia and Malaysia, ketupat is often consumed as an accompaniment to meat dishes such as satay (skewered barbecued ...