Christmas, Singapore style

As I mentioned in my previous post, Singapore recognizes holidays from several major religions, Christian being no exception.  Shortly after the Deepavali lights in Little India came down, the 'Christmas in the Tropics Festival' lights and decorations went up.  The 27th annual Orchard Road Christmas Light-Up, a major showpiece of the festival, stretched for several kilometers from Tanglin Mall down Orchard Road, and this year's theme of 'Starlit Christmas' was dazzling.  Past themes have included 'A Fairytale Christmas' and 'The Enchanted Garden'.  Eleven buildings this year competed in the 'Best Dressed Building Contest'.

The theme of 'Starlit Christmas' was represented by three sections of lights in pink, blue, and purple to signify peace, joy, and love.  The Singapore Tourism Board website expounded on the color theme:

 "Tiffany & Co. is thrilled to be part of Singapore’s annual Christmas Light-Up which is the highlight of the country’s efforts to celebrate the Holiday season of joy and giving. The blue theme and the blue-accented Tiffany Christmas trees along Orchard Road will serve to enhance our central message of Joy and how Tiffany has sought to enrich the lives of its customers with enduring gifts of extraordinary beauty. All our stores throughout the city will also glow in blue with the thematic window displays, echoing that blue is the color of dreams,” said Ms Hew Yee Min, Managing Director of Tiffany & Co.

The blue section along Orchard Road will see Tiffany & Co.’s three 8 metre-high Christmas trees decked in the iconic Tiffany blue boxes and white bows to mark the magical moments this Christmas.

One night in mid-December, MH and I took our cameras down to bask in the neon glow.  As this was an occasion for both photography and shopping, the Singaporeans were out in force.  After a dinner of delicious dumplings at Din Tai Fung, we strolled along shoulder to shoulder with the locals and enjoyed Christmas, Singapore style.