| With a fusion of Chinese, Malay, Indian and European immigrants the culture of Singapore represents all these cultural diversities and has also combined them to create new and unique customs and cultures. Singapore is the smallest nation in Southeast Asia, but offers a huge variety of ethnicities, languages, religions and attractions.
Singapore possesses a few ethnic neighborhoods, however, the segregation has since been decreased because of policies put in place by the Housing Development Board (HDP) The HDP tried to make sure that all public housing had a diverse group of tenants, bringing all ethnicities together in one neighborhood. However, the culture is still very different and evident from apartment/house to apartment/house within the neighborhoods. The reason for bringing the groups together was an attempt to create social cohesion, national loyalty and racial harmony.
Singapore also recognizes a diverse group of public holidays, which greatly represents the varied cultural beliefs. Some of the national holidays include: Chinese New Year, Buddhist Vesak Day, Muslim Eid ul-Fitr, and Christmas Day.
Along the theme of multiplicity follows the four official languages in Singapore: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil; and the variety of religions including; Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
The different ethnicities and mix of cultures create a unique and interesting atmosphere in Singapore, of which Singaporeans are very proud. |