![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bloodandporridge.co.uk\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/20231224_164648-165x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know if all Singaporeans love Christmas, but one thing\u2019s for certain.\u00a0 All Singaporean department stores love Christmas.\u00a0 For instance, Tanglin Mall, which isn’t far from my workplace, has had a big Christmas tree up in front of its entrance since October.\u00a0 That was before I\u2019d even considered hanging up my orange, pumpkin-shaped fairy lights for Halloween.\u00a0 Evidently, making a few extra bucks out of the festive season by starting it in mid-autumn was too good an opportunity to miss.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the silvery monster of a Christmas tree pictured above this entry was to be found in the lobby of a much larger mall, Takashimaya.\u00a0 (I\u2019m absolutely not a fan of shopping centres, but Takashimaya has the saving grace of being home to Singapore\u2019s best bookshop, Kinokuniya<\/a>.)\u00a0 When I was in there yesterday, I couldn\u2019t believe the number of people who were swarming around the base of the tree, attempting to fit the thing into the backgrounds of their selfies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Of course, the madness of celebrating Christmas in Singapore, or in any country that\u2019s not far off the equator, is that on one hand you\u2019re surrounded by Christmas cards and Christmas decorations featuring snow, icicles, frozen lakes, carol singers wrapped in overcoats and woollen hats, sleighs, reindeer, and a thousand other cold, wintery things.\u00a0 While on the other hand, the temperature outside is in the thirties and the ground feels hot enough to fry an egg on.\u00a0 This crazy incongruity was nicely captured by the committee at my local Hawkers\u2019 Centre*, who this year decided to erect their Christmas tree beside a palm tree.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n But anyway\u2026\u00a0 A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n * A Hawkers\u2019 Centre is a complex packed with stalls where you can buy all manner of food and drink at affordable prices.\u00a0 In fact, in expensive Singapore, Hawkers\u2019 Centres are probably the only places were foodies can indulge themselves without also bankrupting themselves.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I don\u2019t know if all Singaporeans love Christmas, but one thing\u2019s for certain.\u00a0 All Singaporean department stores love Christmas.\u00a0 For instance, Tanglin Mall, which isn’t far from my workplace, has had a big Christmas tree up in front of its entrance since October.\u00a0 That was before I\u2019d even considered hanging up my orange, … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bloodandporridge.co.uk\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/20231224_121924-153x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n