ACCOMPANIED by the beats of bhangra music, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday rang in the Vishu festival with more than 400 Sembawang residents.
Vishu, which will be celebrated tomorrow by Malayalees, is originally from the south Indian state of Kerala. It marks the start of an astronomical new year.
Other Indian states, such as Assam and Punjab, will be celebrating similar festivals around this time.
Mr Khaw, a Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, lit traditional oil lamps, which symbolise good luck. Along with the residents, he enjoyed song and dance performances and feasted on Kerala food.
(This is an extract of the original article published.)
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The Straits Times - Blessing of sacred oils
10 April 2009
Catholic priest Brian D'Souza bearing a vessel of sacred oils at the archdiocese's annual Chrism Mass, marking the start of Good Friday and Easter observations.
More than 100 priests gathered yesterday morning at the Church of St Vincent de Paul in Yio Chu Kang Road for the annual service, during which three types of oils used regularly in Catholic rites were blessed.
The ceremony, presided over by Archbishop Nicholas Chia, also saw the priests renewing their vows.
For Catholics, the mass marked the start of a series of services for the Easter Triduum, comprising Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross and died on Good Friday, and that he rose from the dead on Easter Sunday.
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The Straits Times - New Year for Iranian faiths
21 March 2009
Zoroastrians and Baha'is celebrate 'New Day' with dinners, dancing and prayers
By Yen Feng
TWO of Singapore's lesser-known religious groups - the Parsi Zoroastrian Association and the Baha'i Community of Singapore - are celebrating their New Year's Day tonight.
March 21, known in the northern hemisphere as the first day of spring, also marks the first day of the calendar year for devotees of these two Iranian faiths.
Both religious groups will be commemorating the holy day, Naw Ruz, which means 'New Day', with an evening of dinner and dancing - and devotional prayers.
Ms Jasmine Dastoor, 42, a Mumbai native who moved to Singapore four years ago, will be among the roughly 120 Zoroastrian households celebrating tonight at the Holiday Inn Parkview Hotel in Orchard Road.
Preparations began this week, with families eagerly assembling the haft sheen, or Naw Ruz table, to welcome their new year.
The haft sheen, explained Ms Dastoor, is the symbolic representation of the holiday, in the same way that the Christmas tree is to Christmas.
Ms Dastoor's haft sheen, though, has no handmade trinkets or cheesy ornaments. Placed on it instead are seven sweet items that represent the coming of spring, among them wine, honey and rice pudding.
The majority of Singapore's Zoroastrians are Parsi, a term used by Indians for anyone whose origins are from Iran.
They are descendents of a small group of Zoroastrians who fled Persia - modern-day Iran - to seek religious shelter when Muslim-Arabs invaded their land in the seventh century. Many fled to India, and later, from India to Singapore.
Zoroastrians derive their name from the religion's founder, Zarathustra, or Zoroaster. About 200 Parsees reside in Singapore today.
At another home, Ms Sona Liauw was busy setting a different table - full of spicy, rich dishes of steamed rice, chicken and fried vegetables.
She is getting dinner ready for about 30 members of Singapore's Baha'i community, who broke their fast on Tuesday in preparation for Naw Ruz.
Tonight, the Baha'is will welcome their new year at Wild Oats, a restaurant in a colonial house at Upper Wilkie Road on Mount Emily.
Baha'is consider Naw Ruz as a time of spiritual renewal because the day marks also the end of a 19-day fast meant to focus a follower's spiritual love and development.
'Love is universal,' said Ms May Bong, a hairstylist in her 40s, echoing the religion's central tenet that humanity is one single race united in a global society. 'We are all here for a common purpose, to improve ourselves and help those who need our help.'
There are about 2,000 followers of the Baha'i faith in Singapore.
Holy Book: Writings of Bab, Baha'u'llah, and Abd ol-Baha
Number of adherents: More than six million worldwide
Summary of practices: The Baha'i faith has no initiation ceremonies, no sacraments, and no clergy. But the faith is open to all who express the wish to follow it.
ZOROASTRIANISM
An ancient Persian dualistic religion, Zoroastrianism is reputed to have been founded by the Prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster).
Date of origin: 1500 BC
Founder: Zarathustra (Zoroaster)
Holy Book: Avesta
Number of adherents: More than 300,000 worldwide
Summary of practices: Zoroastrianism is known as 'the good religion'. Devotees dedicate their lives to a threefold path represented by their motto: 'Good thoughts, good words, good deeds'.
A longer version of this quotation is: 'Taking the first footstep with a good thought, the second with a good word, and the third with a good deed, I entered Paradise.'
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The Straits Times - Fulfilling their vows
09 February 2009
9,100 Hindu devotees take part in Thaipusam this year
By Caroline Chia
SOME 9,103 Hindu devotees took part in Thaipusam yesterday, the highest number since 2000.
The annual event is held in honour of Lord Murugan to celebrate his birthday and the occasion his mother gave him a spear to slay the demon, Surapadman.
The 4km procession, from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Serangoon Road to Sri Thendayuthapani Temple along Tank Road, began at midnight yesterday.
Devotees carry milk pots, wooden arches or spiked kavadis to fulfil their vows or offer thanks to Lord Murugan.
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The Straits Times - Muslims celebrate Hari Raya Haji
09 December 2008
Muslims from the Muhammadiyah Association performing their Hari Raya Haji congregational prayers at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium yesterday morning. Many also braved the wet weather to join in the sacrificial rites, or korban, at mosques islandwide.
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The Straits Times - Day of sacrifice
09 December 2008
By Mugilan Rajasegeran
MUSLIMS worldwide celebrated Eid al-Adha (The Festival of Sacrifice) yesterday, signifying the conclusion of the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Hari Raya Haji, as it is known in Singapore, is also the time Muslims acknowledge and commemorate Prophet Ibrahim's obedience to God by his willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail. Muslims believe that God appeared and offered a lamb instead for the sacrifice. As a tribute to Prophet Ibrahim's obedience to God, Muslims perform ritual slaughtering of livestock in a sacrificial practice called korban. In Singapore, over 6,000 live sheep and goats were brought in from Australia for the korban rites starting last Friday to be in time for Hari Raya Haji.
They were transported over the next 24 hours to the various mosques and associations registered for practising korban. They were then held in pens and fed and given water.
On Hari Raya Haji, the animals are slaughtered in the name of God. The blade used must be as sharp as possible to minimise distress to the animal and ensure the quickest possible death.
The meat from the slaughtered animals is distributed and shared with family members as well as with the community and the needy and poor.
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TODAY - Selamat Hari Raya Haji
09 December 2008
A volunteer weighing and distributing meat from korban – a ritual slaughtering of sheep, goats or cows – near the Geylang Serai Temporary Market on Hari Raya Haji. The religious occasion is meant to commemorate the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail. At the last moment, a ram appeared in Ismail’s place. This is why Muslims who have the means to, sacrifice a goat or a sheep as a reminder of Ibrahim’s obedience to God. The meat is then shared with family, friends (Muslims and non-Muslims), as well as less fortunate members of the community.
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The Straits Times - Pilgrims prepare for feast of the sacrifice
08 December 2008
More than two million Muslims began the haj on Saturday by heading to a tent camp outside the holy city of Mecca, as they followed the route that Prophet Muhammad took 14 centuries ago.
At noon yesterday, pilgrims were still trickling into the area, filled with thousands of tents in the plain of Arafat, 15km east of Mecca, where they would pray for forgiveness until sunset.
The Eid al-Adha, or feast of the sacrifice, begins today. Rituals include casting stones at walls in a symbolic renunciation of the devil.
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The Straits Times - Celebrating Deepavali away from home
24 November 2008
Foreign worker K. Balasubramaniam (in white shirt), 37, dances with friends to the beat of music performances at Vasantha Oli 2008, the largest heartland Deepavali celebration.
The event, held in Yishun yesterday, was organised by the North West CDC and Indian Activity Executive Committees in the North West District.
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The Straits Times - Light fantastic
28 October 2008
By Wang Hui Fen
DEEPAVALI, or Diwali, literally means 'row or garland of lights'.
It symbolises victory of good over evil, and is celebrated by Hindus worldwide. It highlights the victory of Lord Krishna, one of the deities of the Hindu pantheon, over the demon king Narakasura, and usually falls around late October or early November on the new moon day.
Preparations for the celebration start weeks before with a spring cleaning of the home. New clothes are bought, and women make cakes, sweetmeat and other tidbits - the favourite being murukku.
Hindus believe that departed souls return during this time, so their favourite food, along with new clothes, are placed on banana leaves before their photographs, and prayers are said.
The celebration starts with an early morning traditional oil bath, where the body is rubbed and massaged with gingelly oil that is extracted from fermented sesame seeds.
Hindus also visit temples early in the morning to receive the blessings of Lord Krishna and the Goddess of Wealth.
Then it is time for visiting friends or receiving them, while the nights are filled with fun. Children play with sparklers and are allowed to light clay lamps and display them along the window ledges or doorways.
