Contributed by Jaromel Gee
Halloween was first celebrated as a Celtic harvest festival. The Celts believed that the ancestral spirits of the family would return to earth and be honorably invited home. However, the invitation would attract unwanted harmful spirits. As a means to ward off these harmful spirits, the members of the family would wear costumes and masks to scare them off.
However, the name Halloween and many of its present-day traditions, such as trick-or-treating, derive from the Old English era.
In Singapore, the celebration of Halloween only became popular in the last few years. It was not until the clubs and bars popularized this Western holiday did Singaporeans realize the fun it had to offer. On 31 October, as one takes a walk down the clubbing streets of Singapore, there are people dressed up as their favorite comic book action heroes or pop singers, or more traditionally as mummies, ghosts, skeletons and witches.
This year, Halloween enjoyed a fresh twist as Love The World Soul Rock Bistro and Bar organized its first ever “Hell-No-Win” concert party. On just about any given night at this Christian bar at the Singapore Flyer, local musicians and bands entertain the crowd with inspirational pop and gospel soul rock music.
Initially named “Love Singapore Soul Rock Bistro and Bar”, the owners soon found out that the name was already taken. Happily, Love the World Soul Rock Bistro and Bar was birthed, with the owners drawing its name from the Bible.
The event drew a crowd who quickly filling up the seats before the stage. The entertainers, who sang in English and Cantonese, included Susan SK, Evangeline, Justine, Melvin and Slingshot. It was a great night of friends getting together — and even families showed up at the event. Although it was drizzling and cold outside, the warmth of the bar pulled everyone closely together and the sounds of the entertainers got everyone out of the spooky Halloween mood and brought them into a time of celebration.
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| PHOTOS: Lee Boon Bee | |
Seong Koon Wahsun, an equity volunteer at the bar, said, “My brother [owner Samuel Seong Koon] came up with the idea of the party. People celebrate for fun today but we Christians celebrate everyday!” She added “As a mother, I wouldn’t mind having my 15-year-old son visit the bar for the music, making it a place for families to hang out as well.”
Daryl Lim, 24, says that “On Halloween, it is delightful to see that there is a bar in town that doesn’t have drunken zombies walking around to scare people.”
Love The World Soul Rock Bistro & Bar is located at 30 Raffles Avenue, #02-05 Singapore Flyer. Tel: +65 6333 4117. Website: www.lovetheworldsoulrock.com
