Introduction

The arts scene in Singapore was not vibrant until recent years. It is, however, an emerging cultural centre of the arts in Asia. With the multi-racial and cosmopolitan society in Singapore, we are often associated with both the Eastern and Western cultures, often identified as ‘the gateway between the East and the West’. In 2003, the ‘Esplanade’ was officially opened, acting as a platform for many different arts-related performances, musicals and concerts. Also, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and the LASELLE College of the Arts have been avid supporter of the local arts and culture scene by nurturing young talents in this aspect. They offer full-time diploma and degree programmes which help foster our youths who are interested and well-versed in this area.

Singapore also has a unique culture and heritage, albeit the little history we have. With only 45 years of independence on our back, Singapore is seen as a relatively young country. However, our culture does not necessarily pale in comparison to other countries. Because of our multi-racial and multi-ethnic society, our culture has had a variation in influences which makes it unique to Singapore. This is something that is rare in other countries such as Malaysia or China. Both visitors and locals get exposure to many different aspects of our culture which includes cuisine, language, traditions and practices and traditional clothing, just to name a few.

In the following posts, our authors will talk and elaborate more on the various aspects of the arts, culture and heritage of Singapore, which will hopefully be an eye-opener for our readers as well as us.

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Culture of singapore

Singapore is a multi ethnic country and it is very common to see people of different ethnic groups interacting with each other. The immigrants of the past includes Malay, Chinese, Indian and Europeans. Every culture has its own unique character. Since we have so many different culture in Singapore, it is very important for us to live racial harmonically to avoid racial riots and we do that by respecting each other's culture. In Singapore education system, we are required to learn English and our mother tongue so that we can communicate with other ethnic groups using English and at the same time not lose touch with our own culture. Singlish, as one of Singapore's unique cultural aspect, is widely used by Singaporeans in daily lives.
It is the mixture of English with Malay and chinese words.

Due to the different ethnic groups, Singaporeans celebrate festival of special significance throughout the year.
Chinese normally celebrates Chinese New Year, Chinese Valentine's Day, Qing Ming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Hungry Ghost Festival and Mooncake Festival.
Malays celebrates Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raja Haji.
Indians celebrates Thaipusam, Deepavali and Vesak Day.
Europeans celebrates New Year, Easter, Labor Day and Christmas.
However some Singaporean celebrates festival of other cultures too. For example, during Chinese new year, some Chinese will invite people of other ethnic race to celebrate with them and most Singaporeans also celebrate Christmas.


Although Singapore is a small country, We believe that our culture will slowly get richer and richer as time passes.

In our next post, we will talk about the different traditional clothes, cuisines and tradition of different ethnic groups.

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Traditional Costumes

In this post, we will be touching on the traditional costumes of each ethnic race. Every ethnic group has their own traditional costumes, unique cuisines and tradition.

For the Chinese, female’s traditional dress is called a cheongsam, also known as qipao. The modern version is usually tight-fitting to the person who wears it and meant to be stylish and fashionable. It was created in the 1920s in Shanghai and gained its popularity then through the rich and famous people.

For the males, their traditional costume is called a changsan, also known as changpao. It was the formal dress for Chinese men before suits were introduced to the Chinese.

For the Malay, the female’s traditional costume is called a Kebaya. It is a blouse and dress combination worn by the females. Its inspiration came from Arab region’s clothing.

For the males, their traditional outfit is called Baju Melayu. It is a combinations of a long sleeved shirt with raised stiff collars and trousers. It is usually made of silk too.

For the Indians, female’s traditional clothing is called a Sari. The most commonly seen style is with the sari wrapped around the waist with one end over the shoulder. They are usually colourful and unique.

For the males, their traditional costume is called lungi which is a rectangle cloth draped around the waist and tucked in front of the groin area.

All these different ethnic group’s traditional costumes possess their own uniqueness and come together to form part of Singapore’s culture. In the next post, we will be covering unique cuisines and traditions that made up Singapore’s culture.

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Cuisines & Traditions

In this post, we will be bringing you some of the cuisines from the different ethnic groups in Singapore that help to create her food culture. We will also touch on the traditions customs present here in Singapore.

From the Chinese cuisines, we have Hainanese Chicken Rice, Ba Kuh Teh, Hokkien Mee. (Pictures are in respective order as mentioned)

From the Malay Muslim cuisines, we have Mee Siam, Nasi Lemak, Nasi Briyani, Goreng Pisang.(Pictures are in respective order as mentioned)

From the Indian Muslim cuisines, we have Roti Prata, Murtabak and Chicken Tekka.(Pictures are in respective order as mentioned)

From the Indian Vegetarian cuisines, we have Thosai, Banana Leaf Rice set, Naan.(Pictures are in respective order as mentioned)

From the Western cuisines, we have Chicken Chop, Beef Steak and Burgers.(Pictures are in respective order as mentioned)

Now, we will move into the common traditions and customs in Singapore.

In Singapore, certain local customs and traditions are likely to present the business card with both hands and avoid the colour black, which is an inauspicious colour for the Chinese people. The customs in Singapore are generally not adapted to handshakes as greetings, but in other forms such as bowing, salaaming, saluting and so on. Another popular custom in Singapore is that the people here enter their homes barefoot and shoes are removed outside the house as a sign of respect.

All these little traditions and customs are carried down through different ethnic groups and through the years, which had now become a common Singapore tradition which all Singaporeans do.

Concluding on this post, we would like to share a quote with you! “When in Rome, do what the Romans do!” In the next post, we will be covering the Heritage of Singapore.

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