Joy to the World

Christmas is coming. And it's that time of the year when Orchard Road is illuminated with LED lights and traffic starts to crawl as motorists slow down to let their passengers on-board take in the colourful sights along the way. Red, green and gold - these are the colours that have come to be associated with everything about Christmas. 

In my childhood days, Christmas brought me special feelings. It was more than just a public holiday. I would wait with eager anticipation for carollers and Santa to march by and to hear them sing from one home to the next. Christmas songs like "Oh, come all ye faithful" and "Joy to the world" remain deeply etched in my memory as part of the Christmas scene. And I recall how I soon joined their ranks and participated in a pantomime about the birth of Christ - playing the role of Mother Mary. That was in fact my first acting break at the age of 8. 

These days, people celebrate Christmas regardless of their religious beliefs. Christmas has been successfully white-washed by commercialism into a holiday time for shopping and merry-making. It is a peculiar story of how businessmen managed to transform a major religious event into a secular event, bringing in huge revenues for shopping malls and eateries during Christmas season. Such a transformation does not seem to have ever happened to any other major religious festival. 

Whatever the reasons for people to celebrate Christmas today, may Christmas continue to bring glad tidings to each and everyone. Let's hope one thing will never change for Christmas. That every Christmas will always be true to its spirit of love and remembrance - a time for us to give and to forgive. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Bread

Some have asked me why I give them bread.

If you are really starved and poor, bread is probably the first thing you would crave for. In some religion such as Christianity, bread has a special significance in rituals. 

When we speak of "bread and butter", we mean and refer to our livelihood. In that sense, bread becomes something indispensable and we can't do without bread.

Giving out bread and watching the smiles on the faces of the recipients have been rewarding enough for my volunteers and I to keep handing out bread whenever we could. It has become a symbol of our care and concern for the basic needs of the people around us.

The visits to Toa Payoh Lorong 8, Potong Pasir and French Road today drew many smiles, as usual. Bread helps us create bonds and open communication lines. One elderly folk told me that eating bread helps him to swallow his medicine and he was thankful that we gave him bread. 

Another folk said she missed our bread the last time I visited and was really glad to get one this time. There was also this lonely old man who woke up to take a loaf of bread from me and then went back to slumber at the void deck, hugging the loaf of bread like his mini-bolster.

So, a loaf of bread can be more than just food. At the symbolic level, it shows that we care. And we do.

Don't Quit Singapore

A resident in Potong Pasir told me that he was very disappointed at the results of the recent general election and was planning to leave Singapore for good. In response, I expressed my strong disappointment at his plan and urged him to stay.

General elections are a part of the political renewal process that happens once every 5 years or so. The result of the recent election is already an established fact and the higher the votes for the winning party, the greater will be the voters'  expectation of its performance. The new cabinet has just been installed and how it performs will be closely watched. Hopes are running high after SG50 and everyone should rally together after the elections and put aside their political differences. Rather than being pessimistic because many issues seem unresolved as yet, we should learn to be optimistic and hope that the government will have learnt from its past mistakes and address the many issues that bug ordinary Singaporeans.

Singapore is a beautiful place. A small, tropical island with no natural calamities, except the seasonal haze because of the fires in Indonesia which is aggravating. An enlightened government with a responsible citizenry would be all that we need to make this country a modern paradise and the happiest nation in the world. Many foreigners aspire to live and work in Singapore and if Singaporeans should leave one after another, they can be sure that there will be more new citizens. As it is, Singaporeans are not producing enough children and that has been a justification for adding a large number of new citizens each year. If this continues, the Singaporean identity and culture that we know, will eventually disappear.

Besides, billions of dollars in national reserves have been accumulated over the last 50 years. Unlike many small countries, Singapore has a strong financial safety net that will help her weather the storms ahead. Every Singaporean has a stake in the national reserves which is still accumulating. For as long as our government remains incorruptible and financially prudent, and the formulation and implementation of national policies are able to imbue greater confidence in our future as a nation and not just as an economy, there is still a lot that Singapore and Singaporeans can achieve and be proud of.

So stay and do your part.