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The Birth of Colours of Harmony: How Chingay 2020's Theme Came to Be
By Tobey Chua Si-Liang
News Stories: Welcome
Colors in Harmony: It took over ten people to help bring down the People's Association banner down the stands.
PHOTO: Tobey Chua
News Stories: Image
On Jan 31 to Feb 1, 2020, at 8 p.m., Singapore will once again be celebrating their famed event, Chingay, once again, at the F1 Pit Building. The first Chingay of the new decade brings out a unique theme: ‘Colors in Harmony.’
The concept was born from the idea of bringing people together, and the harmony and peace Singaporeans share with each other. Madam Siti Nur Diyana Mohamad Firdous, an organizer of Chingay 2020 and staff member of the People Association (PA) said: “The concept was more to show that Chingay 2020 is a platform to bring people from different backgrounds and walks of life together.”
The People’s Association (PA) will be celebrating their 60th year of existence in conjunction with the Chingay parade occurring this year. This collaboration was no coincidence, as Madam Siti spoke about the similarities between the celebration of Colors in Harmony and the 60th anniversary of the PA.
The harmonious theme of Chingay 2020 fit perfectly with what the PA represents and what they went through throughout their 60 years, where they engaged with various communities and provided opportunities for people to come together and build up their communities. Madam Siti said this was her favorite part of the whole event, saying: “What excites me the most is seeing how people who start off as strangers become really good friends.”
Touching on the people of Singapore and how they have progressed over the years was a very important message to Chingay this year, one that Madam Siti wanted to ensure was prevalent throughout the performances on Jan 31 and Feb 1. Madam Siti said this regarding the topic: “I guess over the years, Singapore has become a lot more diversified, but we don’t need fancy things to bring people together and something as simple as colors can signify the spirit of Singapore’s size and group of residence.” She believed that the colors also symbolized how Singaporeans can simply enjoy life together under one nation.
The PA’s performance will be in the second act of the event, the color Red’s segment of Chingay 2020. Their act will be a flash mob, consisting of 200 performers volunteering to perform for the PA, while a giant banner with their logo cascades down the stands at Section A and B with golden and silver balls to commemorate the PA’s 60 years of existence.
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The People of Chingay
By Sarefina Sindhu Victor
News Stories: Welcome
Girls from the Sunshine of Harmony segment celebrating the end of a successful rehearsal. They make up some of the youngest performers at Chingay 2020.
PHOTO: Geraldene Chan
News Stories: About
Bright lights. Bold Colours. A sensory feast that take’s one’s breath away. It’s easy to get lost in Chingay’s grandeur and forget what Chingay is truly made up of. The people. Let’s take a closer look at them.
Mrs Siti Nur Diyana Mohamed Firdous, a People’s Association (PA) Staff, shared with us that this year’s Chingay theme, ‘Colours in Harmony’ signified the spirit of Singapore's size and groups of residents
In other words, the vibrant Chingay parade symbolises us, the dynamic and spirited, multi-cultural citizens of Singapore,
According to our interviewee, her favourite part of the parade was not actually a particular act itself, but friendships born through this experience, sharing with us this story. There was lady who used to dragon-boat with a team 8 years ago. When she stopped, she lost contact with her team and friends but participating in Chingay has allowed her to reconnect with those friends.
And she’s not the only one! According to Ms Ashley Maddala, 17, a participant under the travelling dance segment, one of the things she’ll miss the most about Chingay is the sense of unity, not just within her group, but even with the other contingents and audience.
Her contingent was behind the International Minds contingent, made up of Foreigners and Permanent Residents((PRs) as she said: “everyone was so so kind and hyped each other up”
The performers at Chingay were not only kind but supported each other through difficult times, as Ashley shared: “Some of us were going through a difficult time in our lives, but we pulled ourselves up and went to Chingay. And we understood one another. We were still kind to one another and patient with one another”
She also cites the audience as a major source of strength. “We’re having fun with these good vibes, and especially the audience, they gave us very good energy. And it really warmed our team’s heart.”
And it seems like these sentiments have been around for a long time, as shared by Ms Amy Marian Kelias, 20, who participated in Chingay seven years ago, as part of a compulsory orientation program by her secondary school.
In her memories, Chingay was awful. She’d have dry-run practices till even as late as 11pm but still had to make it for school in the morning.
Even worse? On one of the pre-show days, due to an unsettled stomach, she ended up vomiting mid-performance and had to be taken to the side.
While her experience wasn’t amazing, one thing she cites as her saving grace? The opportunity to bond. “We were given a chance to mingle with the rest of my cohort mates and make friends even before sec 1 school started.”
Despite the varying experiences, there seems to be one thing our interviewees can agree on. Unity amongst the people.
As in the words of Ashley, despite turbulent times with fears and unrest due to factors such as the threat of Novel Coronavirus, “our culture is still there and our harmony as a country is still there”
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