Singapore

Singapore officially the Republic of Singapore  is a sovereign city-state and island country in Southeast Asia.

The exquisite Singapore celebrates New Year with lot of grandeur, splendor, and enthusiasm. All the major celebrations as made in and around the time of New Year are in accordance to the Chinese traditions and customs.

The entire skyline of Singapore as well as streets of Singapore are illuminated with colorful lights in such a wonderful way that it seems that it have been taken directly out of an artist’s creative mind. Also, roads are lighted up with fancy blistering lights. All small and big markets and malls are also decorated, usually with flowers and cottons, to reflect the essence of New Year festival and to draw more and more people during the time. Shopkeepers put attractive gift items on display, including toys, flowers, clothes, firecrackers, etc.

The Siloso Splash party and Cirque Aquatique Ball are other great party options, much because of the great music and fine food they serve. This party begins on New Year’s Eve and goes ion till the early hours of the New Year.

There is a tradition of organizing feasts during the time of New Year, in which all friends and members of the family are invited to be a part of the mutual celebration. There is another tradition which is referred as Chun Jei, for which preparations begin a month before the day of New Year. The tradition of Chun Jei calls everyone to develop positive hopes for the future, and abandoning all negativities, troubles, miseries, and failures of the past in the past itself. Significant amount of importance is given to a belief that one should look forward to give a new and positive start with the initiation of New Year, and that will lead to wealth, prosperity, peace, and healthiness in the coming tim.

Singaporean cuisine is diverse and contains elements derived from several ethnic groups, as a result of its history as a seaport with a large immigrant population. 

In Singapore, food is viewed as crucial to national identity and a unifying cultural thread. Singaporean literature declares eating a national pastime and food a national obsession. Food is a frequent topic of conversation among Singaporeans. Religious dietary strictures do exist; Muslims do not eat pork and Hindus do not eat beef, and there is also a significant group of vegetarians/vegans. People from different communities often eat together, while being mindful of each other's culture and choosing food that is acceptable for all.

Other than Singaporean cuisine, it is also common in Singapore to find restaurants specialising in cuisine from a great variety of countries around the world.

5 interesting facts about Singapore.

• Singapore’s national anthem is in micro-text on the back of their $1,000 note.
• Singapore is one of only three surviving city-states in the world. The other two are Monaco and the Vatican City.
• Sang Nila Utama, a prince from Palembang, saw a creature he thought was a lion and named the island “Singapura” which means “Lion City” in Sanskrit. However, there have never been lions outside of captivity in Singapore.
• In addition to its main island, the nation of Singapore includes 63 additional islands, most of which are uninhabited.
• Singapore is among the 20 smallest countries in the world, with a total land area of only 682.7 square kilometers. The United States is about 15,000 times bigger.