On this day, the staff and children are encouraged to attend school in the traditional costumes of one of the races in Singapore. According to the school's letter issued to us a fortnight before the Racial Harmony Day, this means the traditional costumes of the Chinese, Malay and Indian races.
It's weird, hor, that they never mentioned the Eurasians when officially, the Eurasians are one of the 4 major races in Singapore. Or aren't they anymore??
Anyway, so the weekend before the Racial Harmonay Day, we went through the wardrobe for any suitable costumes that WY and WF might use for the RHD. WF was at first very reluctant to put on any costumes, insisting that his teacher had said that it would be alright to be in school uniform, too.
I let him try on the vest that WY had used for his K2 graduation concert. I thought it looked not bad, and more importantly, it could be taken off easily and conveniently kept in WF's schoolbag when it was PE lesson that day. WY needed some persuasion at first, but eventually, he agreed to put this on for RHD. I had to explain to him what Eurasians are and how they put on jackets and neck-ties and bow-ties etc because of their 'western part of their culture'.Then, later in the evening, WY heard about the plan for WF's costume and commented, "Mum, you know ah, actually, the tuxedo is not the traditional costume of the Eurasians, leh. They don't wear jackets or vests like this. I think WF's costume is wrong."
Oops! Is that so? And so, we went through the wardrobe once again, and found a few more choices for WF. These were mainly Chinese costumes used previously and after some trying on, WF decided on the Chinese costume that WY had used for his K2 graduation concert.
WY, on the other hand, was dismayed to find that he has already outgrown all the costumes which he had used to put on for RHDs in the past few years. The green baju, the various Chinese costumes - all cannot fit anymore.
The poor boy wore a clear look of disappointment on his face and I felt so sorry for him that I suggested that we bought a new costume. Or he could just go to school in the school uniform, which he protested, "Then what Racial Harmony Day will that be?"
I told WY that we could try to go and get the new costume only if he managed to finish all his work the next day before 3pm. That lifted his spirits a little, I guess.
Not unexpectedly, the following afternoon, he returned from school and announced heartily, "Mum, I bring great news! I have already finished all my school work for today! So we can go and get the costume, ah?"
Although I felt so lazy about going out in the hot, hot afternoon sun that day, I had no heart to let our little boy down. He has always been very enthusiastic and upbeat about such celebrations, so I shouldn't disappoint him. Besides, it would be wrong not to keep my promise to him, right?
So after a brief lunch and some homework, we set off at about 4pm. Initially, I thought of going to the 'Yokoso' place to buy the Malay costume, but I remember how the Malay shopkeepers had fleeced us off the year we bought the green costume. So, we headed for the newly-opened Geylang Serai market instead - I think the stalls at the market are probably not so pricy.
When we arrived at the market, we were greeted by a whiff of fried banana fitters. Very distinctive but not unpleasant aroma. Over at the clothes section, we were very excited to see many stalls selling all the various types of baju that Malays wear - and those accessories for the ladies - wow, really uncountable varieties and all very glittery!
Eventually, we picked a suit of Malay baju from a Chinese lady. She was very friendly, and even offered to hem up the pants and sleeves if necessary. But her services were not needed because the baju suited WY to a T. My wallet was a good $40 lighter when we left her stall.
Next, we went shopping for a new songkho (I believe this is how the word is spelt). The old black one which WY had previously is now too small for him. After some wandering around and browsing at a stall manned by a Malay woman, we settled for an embroided one which matched WY's new baju.
Our little friend was as happy as a lark when we left the Geyland Serai market. I teased him, "Aha, now no need to worry about not having a costume for tomorrow, right? 放下心中大石了，对吗？" He gave me a gleeful look.
We bought some kueh tutu on our way home. And also bread for breakfast the next morning.
When we got home, I had the new baju washed, dried and ironed all within the night. Talk about efficiency.
The next morning, WY went to school a Kawan Melayu. And later in the afternoon, WF went to school a 华族小朋友! Happy Racial Harmony Day!
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