nPosted on December 3, 2017
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The term “Flag Day,” in Singapore, means the day that a particular charity goes out in full force to ask for donations.
The term “Flag Day,” in Singapore, means the day that a particular charity goes out in full force to ask for donations.n
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nOf course, people can donate to a charity any day of the year – especially now that we have the internet! But each charity’s Flag Day is a day when that charity urges volunteers to set up booths or even go door-to-door, raising awareness of a particular need, informing people of their past achievements, and urging people to donate money.
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nSo…even though today is the anniversary of Singapore’s adoption of its flag, we cannot call it “Flag Day.”
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nSingapore became self-governing within the British Empire in 1959, and this city-state / island nation needed a flag. This national symbol had to combine ideas from the diverse population – about three-quarters of Chinese descent, and minorities of Malay, Indian, and European heritage.
The past flag of Singapore looked pretty much all British:
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nIn designing the new flag, Singapore residents who had Chinese heritage wanted to echo the five stars and red color of the Chinese flag…
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Muslim activists requested the use of a crescent moon, which is common in Muslim countries but very rare in non-Muslim countries. I read that Islam is the religion of only about 14% of Singapore residents, but nearby Malaysia is majority Muslim. From 1962 to 1965, Singapore merged with Malaysia – and the seeds of this merger were no doubt very apparent during the 1969 flag design.
Muslim activists requested the use of a crescent moon, which is common in Muslim countries but very rare in non-Muslim countries. I read that Islam is the religion of only about 14% of Singapore residents, but nearby Malaysia is majority Muslim. From 1962 to 1965, Singapore merged with Malaysia – and the seeds of this merger were no doubt very apparent during the 1969 flag design.n
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| Singapore is located on the tip of the peninsula that is Malaysia. |
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nThe Singapore flag combines the color red, five stars, and a crescent moon:
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nThe symbolism is said to be:
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nRed for universal brotherhood, equality of all people.
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nWhite for everlasting purity and virtue.
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nCrescent moon for a young nation rising in importance.
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nFive stars to represent the national values of democracy, peace, progress, justice, and equality.
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nBy the way…
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nI think it is interesting that crescent moons are so often illustrated with stars or suns inside the arms of the crescent…
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n…when our actual crescent Moon is just the small sunlit portion of the moon, which is also a rocky sphere in space. So we could never see stars or anything else within the arms of the crescent – unless of course it was nearer to the Earth than the Moon!
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nSometimes Earthshine on the part of the Moon that is not lit by the Sun shows us the entire sphere, but the sphere is always there…
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nIn a flag, of course, as opposed to an illustration, including a star or sun within the arms of a crescent is just a part of good layout design.
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nAlso on this date:
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Anniversary of the discovery of Himalia
Anniversary of the discovery of Himalia n
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nAnniversary of first mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing
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nActor and storyteller Te Ata Fisher’s birthday
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nAnniversary of the first close-ups of Jupiter
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nPainter Gilbert Stuart’s birthday
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nAnniversary of the demonstration of neon lights
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nScientist and doctor Carlos Juan Finlay’s birthday
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nIllinois’s statehood anniversary
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nPlan ahead:
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nCheck out my Pinterest pages on:
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- Historical anniversaries in December
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nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJanuary birthdays
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