Singapore is a multi-cultural nation with four major races, namely Malay, Chinese, Indian and Eurasian. Being a diverse society, Singapore annually celebrates Racial Harmony Day every 21st of July. Various activities showcasing the best from each race are being indulged in by pupils and students of all schools across the country.

To start off the celebration, my class listened to the song “Hello to all the children of the world”. Then, we started sharing ideas about the meaning of Racial Harmony and why we celebrate it.

After talking about Racial Harmony Day, we began to taste food from each race:

1. Pisang goreng. It is a Malay food, which means fried banana or banana fritters in the English language. “Pisang” is banana and “goreng” means fried.

2. Roti prata. It is a soft, yet crisp flatbread from the Indian culture.

3. Jasmine tea. It is the most famous scented tea from China. Obviously, Jasmine tea is an influence from the Chinese culture.

4. French fries. Clearly, this is food from the Eurasian culture.

Finally, we played a variety of games from different races:

1. Capteh. It is played by kicking a feathered shuttlecock. This traditional game originated from China.

2. Five stones. These five stones are five triangular cloth ‘bags’ filled with rice, sand or saga seeds. Players need to throw one stone up in the air at the beginning of the game and take one of the four stones from the ground.

3. Pick-up sticks. A bundle of sticks are dropped on a flat surface and each player in turn tries to remove a stick from the pile without disturbing any of the sticks.

Overall, it was a meaningful celebration for everyone!