FESTIVAL LANDSCAPE : CHRISTMAS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This study has established that Orchard Road is a festival landscape, during Christmas season, characterised by public revelry and commericalism. It exhibits western symbols, a temperate scene and commercialization; religious symbolism is either marginalised or absent. It is also a landscape spectacle which aims to impress and captivate popular consciousness. In turn, it seeks to influence the festive behavior of participants. The Christmas landscape is marked by a long gestation period (from mid-November to end of December) which eventually, culminates itself into public revelry on Christmas Eve night. Although Singapore is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious Asian society, Christmas celebration transcends religious and racial boundaries. This is because most Singaporeans, especially non-Christians, have perceived Christmas as a non-religious festival, that is a fun-filled holiday, a 'time-out' from work and routine. Basically, the Christmas landscape at Orchard Road is produced by the Singapore Tourists Promotion Board (STPB) and the private retailers and hoteliers as a creative means to a commercial end. As the only country in South East Asia which celebrates Christmas at such an impressive magnitude, the landscape serves as a year-end tourist attraction, especially for Asian visitors. Increase in tourist arrivals during this holiday season will help to boost retail and hotel industries. For the retailers and hoteliers, the landscape serves as a major marketing strategy to attract the local customers. Christmas in Singapore coincides with the year-end school holiday for students, and bonus period for working people. With more time and disposable income at hand, people tend to go into a spending spree. As one retailer pointed out, usually, Christmas sales accounts for almost 40 percent of annual sales income. Consequently, 20 to 30 percent of total Advertising and Promotion (A&P) budget is devoted to Christmas promotion. Over the years, Christmas Eve/Day lunch/dinner at hotels and restaurants have become a popular Christmas highlight among Singaporeans. Therefore, most hotels would step up their A&P effort in hope of attracting more customers. In short, both STPB and private sector have exploited the festival for their own benefits and interest. Through structured survey and in-depth interviews, most locals(36.1 % ) and tourists(59.4%) attributed the Christmas atmosphere at Orchard Road to its big billboards, decorations and lights. Especially the night scene of Orchard Road. Nevertheless, the Christmas landscape was more appealing to the tourists(93.1 %) than locals(73.1 %), partly because Singaporeans have already grown accustomed to such events. The Christmas landscape at Orchard Road is a showcase of interaction between both global and local influences. Global influences include Western and temperate influences, which are reflected through the adornment on buildings, foodstuff and social practices among Singaporeans during Christmas. But some of these global influences have been localised into Singapore context. Moreover, Singaporean style of Christmas celebration differs from the West: While the latter tend to focus its Christmas celebration on immediate family context (private sphere), Singaporeans seem to place more emphasis on social relations beyond family context ( public sphere). Finally, this study proposes that the concept 'festival landscape' should be kept in its broadest definition to allow further research into Christmas and other festivals in Singapore as well as Southeast Asia region.