Missed the Vesak Day Ceremony 爽约卫塞节仪式

Singapore

新加坡

It is the annual three-step-one-bow day again.

又是一年一度的三步一拜的日子。

I missed the three-step-one-bow ceremony this year because I felt unwell, had a cold, and had body aches!

我因为身体不适、感冒、全身酸痛而爽约了今年的三步一拜的仪式！

Namo Amitabha.

南无阿弥陀佛。

4G 第四代

Singapore

新加坡

On May 15, 2024, the government completed the handover from the third generation to the fourth generation leadership team.

2024年5月15日，政府完成了从第三代至第四代领导团队的交接。

Witnessed by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Lawrence Wong was sworn in as the fourth Prime Minister of Singapore.

在总统尚达曼和大法官梅达顺的见证下，黄循财宣誓就任新加坡第四任总理。

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and the Prime Minister’s wife Loo Tze Liu.

总理黄循财与总理夫人吕子蕊。

Two deputy prime ministers, Gan Kim Yong and Heng Swee Keat.

两位副总理颜金勇、王瑞杰。

Not so new cabinet members.

不是那么新的内阁成员。

Many countries and regions are paying close attention to this handover ceremony in Singapore.

很多国家和地区都很关注新加坡的这场交接仪式。

M? W?

Thailand - Bangkok (Siam Paragon)

泰国 — 曼谷（暹罗百乐宫）

Blurry vision?

视力模糊？

Isn't this McDonald's?

这不是麦当劳吗？

But why is the M become W?

但为什么M变成了W呢？

Since when McDonald's become WcDonald's?

麦当劳什么时候变成维当劳了？

WcDonald's is a fictional popular fast food restaurant chain.

维当劳是一家虚构的受欢迎的快餐连锁店。

It originates from the 1981 manga and anime franchise Cat's Eye.

它源自1981年的漫画和动画系列《猫眼》。

WcDonald's first appeared in the 1983 anime adaptation's 48th episode "A Mystery for a Winter Night".

维当劳首次登场于1983年改编的动画第48集《冬夜之谜》。

On February 21, 2024, official anime and manga adaptations revolving around WcDonald's were announced by McDonald's with animation by Studio Pierrot.

2024年2月21日，麦当劳宣布将围绕维当劳进行官方动画和漫画改编，动画由 Studio Pierrot 制作。

Both the anime and manga were released on February 26, with both being an anthology miniseries made up of 4 shorts and 4 manga chapters.

动画和漫画均于2月26日发行，均为由4个短片和4个漫画章节组成的选集迷你剧。

Dragon Year, Dragon Month, Dragon Day, Dragon Hour 龙年龙月龙日龙时

Today is the third and final Dragon Year, Dragon Month, Dragon Day, Dragon Hour in 2024.

今天是2024年第三个也是最后一个的龙年龙月龙日龙时。

The first two were April 10th and April 22nd.

前面的两个是四月十日与四月廿二。

Ancient China adopted the "Gan-Zhi Calendar".

中国古代采用“干支历”。

It consists of 60 different groups of names consisting of 10 celestial stems and 12 earthly branches, used to represent the order of year, month and day, and are used cyclically in this way.

即10个天干与12个地支相配而成的60组不同名称，用来表示年、月、日的次序，如此循环使用。

Such a day must be particularly auspicious, right?

这样的日子一定特别吉祥吧？

It has no special meaning.

它没有什么特殊的意义。

This is just an interesting phenomenon of the Chinese Lunar Calendar using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches for timing.

这只是中国农历中的一个有趣现象，农历利用天干地支来记录时间。

According to such calculation, the Year of the Rabbit has Rabbit Year, Rabbit Month, Rabbit Day, Rabbit Hour which occurred on March 10 last year; the Year of the Snake has the Snake Year, Snake Month, Snake Day, Snake Hour, and May 12 next year will be such a day.

按照这样的算法，兔年有兔年兔月兔日兔时，去年出现在3月10日；蛇年有蛇年蛇月蛇日蛇时，明年的5月12日就是这样的一天。

P/S: Forgot to tell everyone that Dragon Hour is from 7am to 9am.

注：忘了告诉大家龙时为早上7时至9时。

77

Singapore - Health Sciences Authority (HSA)

新加坡 — 卫生科学局

Ten weeks have passed, it is time to donate blood again!

十周过去了，又是捐血时！

Anyone who has donated blood knows that the interval between blood donations is three months, and the earliest can only be ten weeks later.

有捐过血的人都知道捐血的间隔期是三个月，最早也只能在十周后。

Regular blood donors all have one thing in common: they automatically donate blood when the time comes.

定期捐血者都有个共同点：那就是时间一到就会像着魔般的自动去捐血。

I would jokingly call myself a blood cow, just like the dairy cow on the farm.

我会开玩笑地称自己为血牛，就像农场里的奶牛一样。

In addition to saving lives, donating blood also does more good than harm to the donor's body.

除了拯救生命之外，捐血对捐献者的身体也利大于弊。

This time Burger King is also offering discounted meal packages to blood donors.

这次汉堡王还为捐血者提供了优惠餐配套。

Green 青

Singapore

新加坡

As we all know, Singapore is a multiracial country.

众所周知，新加坡是个多元种族的国家。

Because of this, many religious beliefs have emerged.

正因如此，也衍生出多种宗教信仰。

For example, some Buddhists and Hindus do not eat beef, some Christians do not eat meat on a certain day, and Muslims do not eat pork.

例如，有些佛教徒和兴都教徒是不吃牛肉、有些基督徒在某一天是不吃肉、还有穆斯林是不吃猪肉。

Because of this, hawker centres or food courts in Singapore use colour trays to differentiate between foods.

正因如此，新加坡的熟食中心或食阁会用颜色托盘来区别食物。

There are two main colours of trays: green and brown.

托盘颜色主要分为两种：青色和褐色。

Muslims admire green colour, so the utensils and trays used for halal food are mainly green.

穆斯林崇尚青色，所以清真食物的器皿和托盘是以青色为主。

When Singapore was founded, it experienced racial riots, so the ancestors of all races cherished peace.

新加坡在开国时，曾经历过种族暴乱，所以各族祖辈们都很珍惜和平。

Respect for each other's religious beliefs is passed down from ancestors to the next generation, so Singaporeans are more disciplined when dining and do not put pork on halal utensils and trays.

尊重彼此的宗教信仰是从先辈们传承给下一代的，因此新加坡人在用餐时比较自律，不会将猪肉放在清真器皿或托盘上。

Contrive 忽悠

Thailand

泰国

Speaking of Songkran Festival, many people may mistakenly think that this year’s Songkran Festival in Thailand lasts for 21 days.

提起宋干节，很多人可能会误以为今年泰国的泼水节为期21天。

Some fact check, Songkran Festival is held on April 13 every year.

科普一下，宋干节是每年的4月13日。

In 2018, the Thai cabinet extended the national holiday to seven days, from April 9 to 16, so that citizens could return home for the holidays.

2018年，泰国内阁将全国节日延长至七天，即4月9日至16日，以便公民可以回家过节。

Do not say that the government is contriving everyone.

别说政府忽悠大家。

In fact, what they mean is that tourists can go to various provinces to celebrate Songkran Festival during this period.

其实他们的意思是，游客可以在这期间去各别省份欢庆宋干节。

In addition to the Songkran Festival in Thailand that involves splashing water, there are actually similar water splashing festivals around the world.

除了泰国宋干节涉及泼水之外，其实世界各地也有类似的泼水节。

Choul Chnam Thmey (Cambodia) - It is very similar to Thailand's Songkran Festival, but this festival will focus more on doing merit and dancing to celebrate but the celebration time is not as long as Thailand's.

Choul Chnam Thmey（柬埔寨）— 它和泰国的宋干节很相似，但这个节日会更注重做功德和跳舞来庆祝而庆祝时间没有泰国那么长。

Thingyan (Myanmar) - It is very similar to Thailand's Songkran Festival, but in the eyes of the Burmese people, the festival is not about playing with water, but more about going to the temple to do meritorious deeds.

Thingyan（缅甸）— 它和泰国的宋干节很相似，但在缅甸人民的眼中，这个节日上不是倾向于玩水，而是更倾向于去庙里做功德。

Dai Ethnic Water Splashing Festival (Yunnan) - It is held for three days from April 13th to 15th every year. On the first day, people will come out to buy things in the village's unique market. On the second day, they will put up lanterns by the Lancang River. On the last day, people will wear beautiful costumes to hold a water splashing ceremony.

傣族泼水节（云南）— 每年4月13日至15日举办三天，第一天人们会出来在村里特有的市场上买东西，第二天会在澜沧江边放灯，最后一天人们会穿漂亮的盛装来举办泼水仪式。

Fiesta del Agua y del Jamón (Spain) - Held on June 23, when the bell rings at 12 midnight, the water-splashing battle begins with beer and fireworks.

Fiesta del Agua y del Jamón（西班牙）— 6月23日午夜12点钟声响起，泼水战在啤酒和烟花中拉开帷幕。

Wattah Wattah or Basaan Festival (Philippines) - Held on June 24, douse passersby or unsuspecting commuters and visitors with water.

Wattah Wattah 或 Basaan 节（菲律宾）— 6月24日举行，向路人或毫无戒心的通勤者和游客泼水。

Vardavar or Vartavar (Armenia) - The festival, usually held in July, allows to douse strangers with water.

Vardavar 或 Vartavar（亚美尼亚）— 这个节日通常在七月举行，允许向陌生人泼水。

Waterfight NYC - Cousins ​​Brian De La Cruz and Joshen Abreu founded this annual event in 2011. (Now defunct)

大水战（纽约）— Brian De La Cruz 和 Joshen Abreu 表兄弟在2011年创办了这项年度活动。（现已停办）