Destinations, Travel tips, Festivals and Public Holidays
Singapore Holiday
Hari Raya Puasa Holiday 2011
Jun 18th
Tuesday, 30 August 2011 is a Ministry of Manpower (MoM) public holiday in Singapore Calendar. The holiday is to celebrate the Muslim and Malay Hari Raya Aidilfitri Holiday. In Hijriah (Islamic Date) calendar, it falls on 1 Syawal 1431.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri (also known as Hari Raya Lebaran, Hari Raya Idul Fitri, and Hari Raya Puasa, literally “Celebration Day of Fasting”) is the Malay term for the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fitr.
It is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan 2011 / Ramadhan 2011, the Islamic holy month of “Puasa” (fasting). The holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. It is celebrated starting on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal / Syawal.
Muslims in Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia celebrate Eid like other Muslims throughout the world. The term “Hari Raya” literally means “Day of Celebration” — it is also occasionally used to refer to Eid ul-Adha in the form of “Hari Raya Aidiladha” or “Hari Raya Idul Adha”.
On this day, Muslims all over the world offer a special prayer in the morning and later visit their relatives and friends. The young will seek forgiveness from elders for their past misconduct.
In Singapore, the first day of the Hari Raya is celebrated as a public holiday, where civil servants and private sector workers alike are mostly not required to work.
In Indonesia and Malaysia, it is a long holiday period, with some companies are not working for as long as 2 weeks.
The main greeting used by Muslims in Singapore and Malaysia is “Selamat Hari Raya” which means “Happy Eid” in Malay. Another greeting is “Maaf Zahir dan Batin” which translates loosely to “I seek forgiveness (from you) physically and spiritually”, for Hari Raya is a time to reconcile and renew relationships with others.
In Indonesia, the more commonly used greetings are “selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri”, “Selamat Lebaran”, and “Maaf Lahir dan Batin”.
During the Muslim month of Ramadan leading up to Hari Raya, it is mandatory for Muslims to fast from dawn to dusk. All Muslims except the young, old or infirm must fast. Many Muslims also abstain from pleasures such as smoking cigarettes and sexual activities during the daylight of the fasting month.
Widely, markets, or ‘Ramadan bazaars’ are held in many areas around the country, where all sorts of food and kuih — traditional Malay delicacies — are sold for breaking fast or buka puasa. Hotels and restaurants have also exploited this situation to offer exorbitant Ramadan buffets.
The main attraction place to observe the Hari Raya and the preparations prior to festival is best observed at Kampong Glam and Geylang Serai, a bustling outdoor market and the Hari Raya Light-Up, as well as various Mosque around Singapore.
Happy Hari Raya Puasa 2011
See also:
Hari Raya Puasa 2011
Hari Raya Puasa 2012
Buddhist Vesak Day
Jun 17th
Vesak day is celebrated by Buddhist around the world, and in different manners all over the world. Though some countries occasionally use different date for this festival, most would fall on this same day.
Vesak is an annual public holiday observed traditionally by practicing Buddhists in South Asian and South East Asian countries like Nepal, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indonesia, Pakistan and India. Sometimes informally called “Buddha’s birthday,” it actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment Nirvana, and passing (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha.
The Vesak Day is an extremely important occasion observed in Buddhism. Huge crowds will usually assemble at various Buddhist temples around the city. Inside the Buddha temples the monks chant sacred hymns and a large number of devotees set caged-birds free. Setting the imprisoned birds free is considered as a graceful gesture which serves as a mark of respect to all living creatures in the world. On this day, the Buddhist youths organize blood donation camps and distribute gifts to the poor people. During the evenings, candlelit processions are found walking across the streets of the city and this is how the festival is ended.
Date Of Vesak Day
Vesak Day Year 2010 falls on Friday, 28 May 2010.
Vesak Day 2011 falls on Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Vesak Day in Singapore
The entry to observe the Vesak Day festival is free of cost as people can enter the temples free of cost. Some of the best points in the city for observing the festivities of Vesak Day in Singapore are the Buddhist Lodge at River Valley Road, The Thai Buddhist Temple at Jalan Bukit Merah and Lian Shan Shuang Lin Temple at Jalan Toa Payoh.
The Singapore Vesak Day is always celebrated in the month of May and is a yearly event.
Happy Vesak Day !
Chinese Lunar New Year 2010 = Valentine 2010
Jun 17th
See also: Chinese New Year 2012
The first day of Chinese/Lunar New Year 2010 falls on Sunday, 14 February 2010, which means it falls on same days as St. Valentine’s Day.
Depending on how you look at it, this may be a blessing or trouble.
Days prior to and during Chinese New Year are traditionally busiest period for restaurants as well as travel agencies.
Many Chinese families will have reunion dinners together at the restaurants, ordering relatively expensive dinner package.
Some others will take a holiday trip, since Chinese New Year is also the longest public holiday in Singapore (2 days, plus another one day if it happens to be on Sunday like on year 2010).
St. Valentine’s Day is when couples, young and old will relive romance in their relationship, with many preferring romantic dinners at the favourite restaurants.
With the two festival comes together, restaurants will have to choose one to focus on, and that means they have to lose one of the best business day for the year 2010.
List of Singapore Public Holidays Dates In Calendar Year 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Jun 11th
Here is the list of recent public holidays calendar
MoM (Ministry of Manpower) Calendar of Singapore Public Holidays for The Year 2011
MoM (Ministry of Manpower) Calendar of Singapore Public Holidays for The Year 2010
Singapore School Holiday 2010 Calendar (not confirmed by MoE – Ministry of Manpower – yet)
MoM (Ministry of Manpower) Calendar of Singapore Public Holidays for The Year 2009
MoE (Ministry of Education) Calendar of Singapore School Terms and Holidays for year 2009
MoM (Ministry of Manpower) Calendar of Singapore Public Holidays for The Year 2008
Flashback : Singapore Public Holiday for Year 2008 Calendar
Jun 11th
With Year 2010 Public Holiday Calendar is out, it is interesting to look back to year 2008
This is the MoM (Ministry of Manpower) Calendar of 2008 Singapore Public Holiday.
The dates for the eleven specified public holidays for 2008 are as follows:
|
New Year’s Day |
Tuesday |
1 January 2008 |
|
Chinese New Year |
Thursday Friday |
7 February 2008 8 February 2008 |
|
Good Friday |
Friday |
21 March 2008 |
|
Labour Day |
Thursday |
1 May 2008 |
|
Vesak Day |
Monday |
19 May 2008 |
|
National Day |
Saturday |
9 August 2008 |
|
Hari Raya Puasa |
Wednesday |
1 October 2008 |
|
Deepavali |
Tuesday |
28 October 2008 |
|
Hari Raya Haji |
Monday |
8 December 2008 |
|
Christmas Day |
Thursday |
25 December 2008 |
2. The date, 28th October 2008, for Deepavali needs to be checked against the Indian Almanacs when they become available towards the end of 2007. Should there be a change in date, the Ministry of Manpower will announce it towards the end of 2007.
3. The list of public holidays for 2008 is available through the following channels:
-
The Ministry of Manpower’s website; and
-
The Ministry of Manpower’s Interactive Voice Response System at telephone number (65) 6438 5122 to request a faxed copy of the list of public holidays.
Plan your holiday for 2010
Jun 9th
Ministry of Manpower (MoM) has released the Singapore Public Holidays 2010 Calendar . From 11 days of public holiday, eight falls on Friday, Sunday, or Monday, which will give Singaporeans many long-weekend breaks. Another two public holidays Labour Day 1 May 2010 and Christmas Day 25 December 2010 falls on Saturday, which some companies compensate by adding to annual leave break, while some companies choose to make the following Monday as non-working days.
Only Hari Raya Haji (17 November 2010) falls on Wednesday.
MOM Singapore Public Holidays for The Year 2010
Jun 9th
Ministry of Manpower has confirmed the Singapore Public Holidays for 2010. Please note that based on this new calendar, the previous calendar we released was not accurate.
SINGAPORE PUBLIC HOLIDAYS FOR THE YEAR 2010
The dates for the 11 specified public holidays for 2010 are as follows:
|
New Year’s Day |
Friday |
1 January 2010 |
|
Sunday* Monday |
14 February 2010 15 February 2010 |
|
|
Good Friday |
Friday |
2 April 2010 |
|
Labour Day |
Saturday |
1 May 2010 |
|
Friday |
28 May 2010 |
|
|
National Day |
Monday |
9 August 2010 |
|
Friday |
10 September 2010 |
|
|
Friday |
5 November 2010 |
|
|
Wednesday |
17 November 2010 |
|
|
Saturday |
25 December 2010 |
* As Chinese New Year falls on Sunday 14 February 2010 and Monday 15 February 2010, the next day, Tuesday 16 February 2010, will be a public holiday.
2. The date, 5 November 2010, for Deepavali needs to be checked against the Indian Almanac when it is available. Should there be a change in date, the Ministry of Manpower will issue a press release to announce the change.
3. The list of public holidays for 2010 is available on the Ministry of Manpower’s website at http://www.mom.gov.sg
Update: Singapore 2011 Public Holidays is out. Check it out !
Firefly’s Ipoh-Singapore Route via Sultan Azlan Shah Airport
Jun 8th
The tour operators in Perak are very happy with new Firefly’s Ipoh – Singapore route as the service will surely give a boost to Perak’s tourism industry. The flight will depart from Sultan Azlan Shah Airport.
Jetstar Asia Boost Singapore Visitor Arrivals Promotion
Jun 8th
Jetstar Asia aims to Boost Singapore Visitor Arrivals with Promotion
Supported by a major multi-media advertising campaign in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Taiwan, Jetstar Asia in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will be promoting efforts to boost number of visitors arrival at Singapore.
Singapore attracting more tourists for F1 season
Jun 7th
Despite global economic slowdown, Singapore Tourism Board is confident of attracting more tourists for F1 season this year, targeting F1 tourists with low hotel rates and new racing route. The Singapore Formula One Grand Prix will be held in September.
