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Haw Par Villa, Singapore’s largest outdoor art gallery and a community space for all, will commemorate the Solar New Year on Saturday, 29 April 2023, 9am – 9pm. Last year, Haw Par Villa curated the inaugural Solar New Year event on its grounds, uniting a host of communities across South and Southeast Asia - a world first.
Conceptualised by the park’s management team - Journeys Pte Ltd - as a wholly original event, the Solar New Year has become one of Haw Par Villa’s signature events on its annual calendar, and this year, on 29 April, the event will be back – bigger and better!
The universal New Year is 1 January, while the Chinese and many East Asians celebrate the Lunar New Year, which usually falls in January or February. Slightly later in mid-April, another New Year is observed for a host of communities across South Asia and Southeast Asia. This is the Solar New Year.
The Solar New Year unites communities that use variants of a solar calendar that originated in the Indian Subcontinent at least 3,500 years ago.
The first day of the solar year was tracked according to the transition of the Sun from the Pisces to the Aries constellation - presently 13 or 14 April. This transition is called Mesha Sankranti. “Mesha” is Sanskrit for “Ram”, the symbol for the constellation of Aries, while “Sankranti” means “Transit”, “To Move”, or “To Step Forward”.
Over hundreds of years, Hinduism and Buddhism spread from South Asia to Southeast Asia, resulting in the spread and adoption of variants of Hindu and Buddhist calendars. Based on these calendars, communities in Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and southern China usher in the New Year between 13 and 16 April every year.
This year, some of these communities are coming together to share and celebrate their culture and heritage on Saturday, 29 April 2023, 9am – 9pm. The event will kick off with New Year Blessings from monks and priests representing different communities in Singapore
The blessings will take place at the Parents’ Memorial, next to the Journey to the West diorama. Please refer to this map for directions: (Directions Map) It is Item 19 under “Key Dioramas and Sculptures”.
Another special element of the festival at Haw Par Villa will be a Buddha altar set up by the Thai community in Singapore. Here, members of the community can carry out their ritual washing of Buddha’s feet, an important tradition in the celebration of Songkran. Water is symbolically significant for the Thai people and is meant to signify cleansing and purification. The tradition originally began in temples as a form of Buddhist "merit-making".
Visitors to Haw Par Villa can also expect a colourful bazaar, free music and dance performances, and workshops together with an exhibition tracing the history of the Solar Calendar and how various communities celebrate the same festival. Highlights include a Burmese dance troupe, KuMuDra Myanmar Arts and Culture, who will showcase 2 items which are traditionally performed during Thing Yan (Burmese New Year), “Yein” Dance and “Court Ladies” Dance.
The Thai Dance Society will perform traditional Thai dances and Revolt Gym will showcase a Muay Thai boxing demonstration. The Singapore Malayalee Association will present Thiruvathirakkali, a traditional folk dance performed by women in Kerala, a southern state of India, while students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic will entertain with Bollywood dance moves.
Damaru Singapore and Bhangra dance troupe, Shere Punjab Bhangra/ Lightning Dholi, will drum up the beat with their crowd-pulling Parai (Indian Drum) and Bhangra Performances.
Visitors to the park can pick up collectables as well as food and snacks from a bazaar featuring Indian, Thai and Burmese items. Popular modern Thai restaurant, Folks Collective, teaming up with the Thai Association of Singapore, will be selling an array of Thai delights - think Thai beers and food that will definitely get you saying “aroy mak mak”! (shiok!)
Other booths to look out for include Jagua tattoo by Indian Inks and popular street food like pani poori and masala chai (spiced tea) by Party Poori by Chef Annil.
Back by popular demand is Jean Toh, a self-taught stamp carving artist under the name Baisimu, will be putting her own unique twist on her workshop for the Solar New Year.
Come be a part of the interactive Rangoli making demonstration by Singaroli. Workshops to sign up for include a Muay Thai class by Revolt Gym and a miniature clay fruit and vegetable making workshop by Nari.
These programmes and more will take place mainly at the Culture Courtyard and the Visitor Centre. Please refer to this map for directions: (Directions Map) It is Item B and F respectively under “Key Locations”.
All performances are open to the public and free of charge. Workshops are chargeable, click here for the latest information.
