National Day: Singapore is our homeland; This is where we belong,

August 9 is a special day to all in Singapore but a significant day for all Singaporeans as it is Singapore's National day: 47 years since our independence. On this day, we remind ourselves the hardship that our older generation and our MM, Mr Lee Kwan Yew, put in to build Singapore and have what we have right now. In this particular day, most of the Singaporeans hang our Singapore flag outside of their house as well as going to various parts in Singapore to celebrate the National Day.

Singapore was formly known as Temasek until 13th century when an Indonesian prince by the name of Sang Nila Utama landed on the island and saw a lion. He then decided to name the island, Singapura (Singapore) which means Lion City. Not quite sure how he managed to convince the villagers living in the island of Temasek that he has changed the name of their country to Singapura but hey, he did it.

In 1819, a British statesman by the name of Sir Stamford Raffles, arrived in Singapore and established a British Port in the city state. This was the beginning of our economic growth whereby the strategic geographical location of Singapore was capitalised upon. Ships travelling from all around the world wanting to trade in countries such as China had to pass by Singapore. Until today, this has formed one of the backbones of our economy.

In 1942, Singapore was occupied by the Japanese during the World War II and was renamed Syonanto. Many of the older generations who survived the Japanese occupation are still alive today and frequently share with us the difficuties they faced during the occupation. In 1945, after dropping the two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered and we were returned to British rule. Slowly gaining self governance until 1963, when we merged with Malaysia. Our merge with Malaysia was short lived and only lasted two years as many social and economic disagreements arose. At the stroke midnight on the 9th August 1965, Singapore, is an independent country.

Our Prime Minister at that time, Lee Kuan Yew, faced a challenging task of building our country from scratch. Singapore is a small country without any natural resources but together with hardworking Singaporeans, we managed to build the country together to what we have today. Every year on 9th of August, we celebrate our National Day and constantly remind ourselves that we got to where we are today through hardwork and dedication.

Here are some pictures that i would like to share with you all !

Marina Bay Floating Platform- The Marina Bay floating platform is the largest floating platform in the world and it is the venue for our National Day Parade 2011!