Happy Birthday Singapore.....

Warm Greetings everyone....Recently,the land where i was born in celebrated its National Day.A a very important day in the nations celebrations....A day,all races,religions and people of
Singapore join in one hearts & minds to proclaim our love for the country we live in.

Singapore's National Day Parade (NDP) is an annual extravaganza involving more than 5,000 participants,65,000 spectators and requiring six months of organization.The spectacle lasts four hours and culminates in a brilliant fireworks show lighting up the night sky.


Singapore celebrated its first National in 1966,one year after Singapore's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965.Over the years,the Parade has become the biggest national event in Singapore.What is perhaps most memorable at each celebration is the fireworks display marking the climax of the parade,the sky would be bursting with the wonderful colors of the visual vista,dazzling it as well as the hearts of fellow Singaporeans.On this very special occasion,most Singaporeans would be decked out in patriotic colours - namely,red and white.The colours of our flag.

The venue of the parade is usually at the historical grounds of the Padang,where the declaration of Singapore's independence was held.Since the first parade in 1966,all the way to 1975,the venue was located in this central area to bring the parade closer to the people.In 1976,the parade was held for the first time at the newly completed National Stadium,where the much larger capacity allowed for more to view the parade live.For the first time in 2007,it was held in Marina Bay and future parades will be held there until the new sports hub is completed in around 2011.

The Parade has gained enormous popularity and support from the people that it is not unusual to find massive number of citizens trying to get their hands on a ticket,which is released free-of-charge.Although the programme and sequence of the parade do change over the years,several components and the overall flow of the parade have remained intact for the past 4 decades.With the shifting of venues for some editions of the parade,the programme may see slight modifications in order to suit the venue,for instance the Mobile Column, which is only possible at the Padang site.




The pre-parade segment today may include mass-displays,choir performances,school band displays,sky-diving displays,and other light-hearted performances to entertain the crowd prior to the parade proper,with the added positive effect of encouraging parade-attendees to be seated earlier.

The parade has been a traditional staple of the National Day Parade.Participants of the parade include members of the Singapore Armed Forces,Singapore Police Force,Singapore Civil Defence Force,representatives of the different unions and Ministries as well as students in uniformed groups such as the National Cadet Corps,National Police Cadet Corps,the Singapore Red Cross,the Girls' Brigade,the Scouts.

The entire parade of will end in a chorus of voices singing familiar National Day Songs,mass pledge taking and the singing of the National Anthem.
It has its origins in early NDPs as various mass display items put up by community groups or schools to add colour to the otherwise military parade.

These items revolved around the themes of racial harmony,ruggedness among youths etc,which are represented by ethnic dances and mass gymnastics displays.This section evolved over the years to become more theatrical,from the massive flashcard displays that complemented the parade in the 1980s to multimedia projections in recent shows.

Parades today,held from dusk to night,end in the climax of fireworks displays which have become a signature item of National Days.However,in the early parades that were held in the day,mass lion dance displays are actually the finale in the parade.Lion dance troupes from various community centres and clan associations would gather on the field to the resonating sound of drumbeats to put on a fiery display that end the parade on an auspicious note.

I was working this year on National Day,but made sure i got home in time to watch the parade live on Tv.Its a very importatnt day for all Singaporeans.A day we remember how our countries grown over the years.A day to thank our forefathers and people who have given up their blood,tears and sweat to build up this tiny nation.

I'm proud to be Singaporean.This is My Country,My Home.......With that,i leave with a couple of videos for everyone to view of the parade since the earlier years and evolved till this day.