The Singapore flag is not that well known around the world. Perhaps it’s due to our lack of major sporting stars, except swimming sensation Joseph Schooling. The rest of the world never really gets to see our flag. When our food tour guests explore Singapore this changes. Our flag is seen all over the country. So here’s a bit of history and information about the flag of Singapore.
How the flag of Singapore was created.
So our national flag was created back in 1959. At this time Singapore was still a part of the British empire but we became self-governing. In 1965 when Singapore gained independence it was a natural choice to be the official flag. The then deputy prime minister Mr Toh Chin Chye led a committee to design the flag. He is quoted as saying,
“Although we were self governing it was necessary right from the beginning that we should rally enough different races together as a Singapore nation.”
At the time the Chinese population of Singapore were keen for the flag to have 5 stars. Similar to the Chinese flag. The muslim population wanted a crescent moon. The Singapore flag has both of these features.
What different parts of the flag symbolise.
The red banner on the flag symbolises brotherhood. and equality of man. The white banner symbolises pervading and everlasting purity and virtue. The crescent moon represents a young country on the rise. The five stars all have a different meaning. Democracy, Peace, Progress, Justice and Equality.
Some interesting flag facts
Singapore, Croatia and Nepal are the only 3 countries in the world to have a crescent on their flag and not be a Muslim country.
From July 1st to 30th September residents in Singapore are encouraged to fly the flag from their balconies and gardens. This is to celebrate Singapore national day.
Mr Toh wanted the flag to be all red but this was not popular as at that time the colour red was associated with the communist party.
At first there were only going to be 3 stars on the flag. Representing Democracy, Justice and Equality. However this was also deemed to be too similar to the Malaysian communist party. As a result 2 extra start were added.
If you’d like to explore Singapore on one of our award winning food tours log onto www.singabites.com/tours
