The 21st of July is a very colourful day for Singaporean students. It is a day when you get to wear your traditional attires to school. There is a lot of entertaining, enriching and enlightening activity which is accompanied by plates of delicious food. The day is a celebration of the multiple identities of Singapore. But what is the story behind this yearly commemoration? How has it evolved over the years? And what are some of the things that you could try out at school to celebrate the day productively? Let’s take a closer look.
A sad memory
The Racial Harmony Day commemorates a significant yet sorrowful event in the annals of Singapore’s history. It goes back to the 21st of July in the year 1964 when Singapore was a part of the Federal States of Malaysia. On that very day during a procession to commemorate the birthday of Prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam, violence broke out between people from the Chinese ethnic group and the Malays. It ended with 22 people losing their lives and over a hundred people getting injured. This infamous incident came to be known as the 1964 race riots.
Forever etched in memory
The race riots of 1964 shall forever be in the Singaporean memory. But as our nation has shown time and again, the legacy of that memory will only push Singaporeans towards compassion and brotherhood. We learned from the race riots and vowed to never let similar incidents occur. In order to inculcate the spirit of racial harmony in youngsters, the Ministry of Education instituted the celebration of Racial Harmony Day in 1997.
The Celebrations
Schools are at the centre of the Day’s celebration. It could be said that concern over the lack of historical awareness among Singaporean youth contributed towards the proclamation of such a day. Singaporean students are indeed taught a bit of history on the day. This could be in the form of plays, skits, other performances and even food. Stalls are set up in school campuses which showcase the specialities of the diverse cultures and races that inhabit the land. To understand more about the different cultures, students visit different places of ethnic significance and are also strongly encouraged to come to school in their traditional wear. One would easily spot Malay, Tamil, Chinese and many more dressing styles at schools on this day. Dosas and dumplings adorn the stalls and enthusiastic youngsters savour them.
What can you try out at school?
Well, you could try out all or some of the stuff discussed above. Or you could make use of your creativity to come up with something that would be even more interesting and in tune with the philosophy of the day. Normally we would have people from a particular culture showcasing performances themed on their culture. Maybe you can add a little variety here. As a mark of respect for unity in diversity and accommodative spirit for other cultures, it would be really beautiful if we let students showcase performances which are themed on one of the Singaporean cultures that they do not belong to. This would help them learn a lot more about other cultures than would have been possible through lectures and viewing. This is but a mere suggestion. Put your imagination to use and you could arrive at tons of exciting things to do.
Singapore is mine and yours. There is no Singapore without the multiple cultures that inhabit this land. We have excelled as a nation owing to our sense of oneness which celebrates the diversity that we live amidst. May the annual racial day celebrations further strengthen this sense of unity among the younger generations.
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