Why is Christmas so important for most people?

In many families it is the highlight of the year when everyone gathers around the elaborately decorated tree and the room is bathed in festive lighting; children’s eyes light up as they admire their gifts and you can simply forget about your everyday worries. Christmas and Advent time exercise an unmistakeable magical charm over people. As the days get shorter and colder and you can feel wintertime approaching, many people console themselves about the last few warm autumn days coming to an end by thinking about the upcoming Christmas.

But why is Christmas so important for most people, especially in the western world? Is it tradition, religion or are there other reasons?

Of course to start with Christmas is a Christian festival. The birth of Christ is celebrated by 2 billion Christians all over the world on 25th December.

But why was precisely this date laid down by the church? An exact date of birth is not mentioned for the Christ child in the bible. The date was probably defined at the end of December for various reasons. The solstice, the day from which the days get longer, has always been celebrated in almost all well-known cultures in the western world, be it Germanic, Celtic, Roman or Persian. The definition of the date might have resulted from this custom. Or even from the natural need of people to live off the hope of salvation through the Christian message of the birth of the Saviour, be it only from ice and snow during the cold and long winter when nothing thrives on the fields and pastures.

However, we must not forget that Christmas is not the most important festival in the church year from a purely Christian perspective. Although it marks the birth of Jesus, the most important festival is Easter, which solemnises the resurrection of the Son of God.

The fact that despite this Christmas is celebrated much more elaborately than Easter in so many families can certainly be explained by tradition. Particularly during the cold and dark season, people have a greater need to come closer together, retreat to their homes and simply enjoy a few quiet days with their family in a peaceful atmosphere with good food.

Even if this explains the date and reason for Christmas, many people still ask though, where do the many symbols that we encounter around Christmas time every year come from. Anyway, Merry Christmas to all my friends, fans, colleagues and sponsors, not forgetting my beloved family and everyone at Royal Entertainment and Project Awareness. 

Important for VWOs to organise themselves well: Tan Chuan-Jin

Saw the news on the Channel NewsAsia in regard to the "Important for VWOs to organise themselves well: Tan Chuan-Jin", which I personally agreed to what he had said in the interview video, click HERE. At Project Awareness, through our monthly distribution, weekly house visiting and follow-ups by our team and volunteers, we are still manageable and trying to improve our system further.

Project Awareness also worked closely with a couple of Senior Activity Centres and Family Service Centres in Singapore, as well as Social and Family Development (MSF) and Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM). I also constantly contribute my part to promote volunteerism and kindness through my public music performance, media interview and social media platform. 

In addition, Project Awareness also worked with a number of volunteer groups and corporate companies in serving our beneficiaries too. I hope to see more people, more volunteer groups and corporate companies stepping forward with your helping hand to build a more gracious Singapore together with us. 

Project Awareness Facebook: Click HERE.

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News from Channel NewsAsia: Voluntary welfare organisations need to organise themselves well, to ensure that volunteers can help in a more meaningful way and meet real needs, said Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin.

He said this on the sidelines of a visit to some rental flats in Chai Chee Road, which were being spruced up. Some of these residents faced a bed bug infestation, and volunteers helped to fumigate and clean the units.

"If you have a lot of volunteers who want to come in and help, but you're not organised well, it's going to be a poor experience and you could turn people off and you're not going to be very effective in your help," said Mr Tan.

He said one way this can be done is through longer-term corporate partnerships, which can lead to a win-win situation for both the beneficiaries, and the employees who are volunteering.

"The beauty of a long-term partnership is that the employees who are volunteering - we find that many people want to get more regularly involved. Because they get to know the people, and you're not just anonymously helping someone and then move on and have no idea what happens in their lives. You actually become interested in someone else's life, and I think that's when the real change happens," said Mr Tan.

Mr Tan also said with Singapore's ageing population, there is a need to ensure there are programmes in place to support the elderly, whether or not they fall into the low-income bracket.

"I'm actually quite concerned about those who are ageing in the private estates. Because isolation could sometimes even be more pronounced in those areas," he added.

Know more about Kata and the founder - Mr David Chen

Have you heard of Kata? To many of my music fans and supporters, they know this brand as previously I was using Kata i3s, but recently I upgraded to Kata i4 as Kata founder and CEO Mr David Chen felt that it is time for me to progress with Kata. 

Apart from Kata i4, I also try out Kata T4 tablet and Kata box, and I'm really amazed by how Kata improve for the past one year. I will be writing a review on Kata i4 smartphone, Kata T4 tablet and Kata box soon. But just want to share with all my friends, Kata box quite cool and you must get one for your family. This is the video by my good Taiwan buddy Hayden Chen, sharing his experience on Kata box.

If you are curious about who is the founder and CEO of Kata Digital, and how Kata is founded, you must read this article below:

Kata Founder David Chen explains growing success

IT all started when he was 11 years old and he would always find himself taking apart and putting back together a VCR tape.

Since then David Chen's quest to build his own business and merge it with his interest in technology would take him to the US, Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore. It would also push him to draw inspiration from the unlikeliest persons and places.

"That's always been a childhood dream of mine. That goes  way back when I was in high school and in my college days. I've always wanted to have a business, but it didn't happen overnight. My mom said:"David, you should go get a job, and get some work experience before owning a business. It is good to learn and see the world first," said Chen, founder and CEO of global brand Kata.

And get a job, he did, in the US. He first worked with AT&T, where he got his corporate training, before moving to Bank of America to learn more about finance. Finally, he worked with Cisco Systems to learn more about technology.

Coming back to Hong Kong, he put up an IDD company. One world Telecom in 1999. As with any other business, the beginning was challenging.

"My experience is that when you try to put your idea into a business, you realize you don't know anything. You realize that you just have the illusion or the perception and you learn that you know nothing about servers, switches, and lines, but you learn what you need to do," Chen said.

He soldiered on and, four years after, he put up Owtel shops which then sold phones from various brands.

"Back in 2009, I looked around and I said 'Hey, that's not good.' Anybody can sell what we have. The guy next door had Nokia, Samsung, and i thought we needed something different, something better, something that we have that no one else has, and that's how the Kata brand came about," he said.

It was in the Philippines and in a meeting with a Japanese guy that Chen's search for a simple, easy to remember, and easy to pronounce brand name ended.

"We need our own brand. The question then is "What do we call it?" We looked around and we considered this name and that name, and we said that it must not be too complicated because you wanted people to be able to pronounce the name and remember it very easily. So, it has to be very simple," Chen said.

"And I was thinking one night, and I was thinking of what should i call it, and there was this fellow from Japan and his name was Shikata. I was in a meeting with him and I thought that Kata really sounded so simple, sounded really good," he added.

He then searched the internet and found that Kata means "form" in karate in Japanese.

"To me, it means simplicity... Very simple, very easy to remember. It's the best name possible and any Asian can pronounce it... We do business in Asia even though we are a US company," he said.

As for the koi fish as Kata's logo, he say it illustrates the brand's philosophy of "making life easy."

"We wanted something different, something unique and no one has ever used it (koi fish). This is an Asian brand and the fish represents zen, energy, and vibrance.

That's how we came up with the koi fish and the shadow of it." he said.

"In technology, you gotta catch up, number one. Once you caught up, you need to level up, and right now we are taking it to different levels. Not only have we learned, we have mastered it," he said.

This pursuit is evident in the latest Kata products - the Kata box, and the Kata tablet T4.

Chen said the Mega VPN app allows users of both Kata Box and the T4 to play games, watch movies and shows. Kata as an exclusive partnership with Mega VPN and it is preloaded and free in Kata's newest devices.

"You could play games, but you could also watch movies. Sometimes, kids don't want to watch TV, they want to play games so that is the ability of the Kata box versus of what's out there." he said.

"Our tablet(T4) has a TV folder and you can access Netflix, CBS and all that stuff. No one else has built a device like that and we have this because we're doing this as service. We're always been a service company. We started out as an IDD company. So now, this device, we flipped it to provide service, and this is what we have always been." He added.

In the near term, Chen said Kata would be focused on marketing and getting the public to know better about the brand and its products.

Presently, Kata products are sold in Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, the US, and Canada. Next year, Chen said he is eyeing to expand to Malaysia and Taiwan. Eventually, he is also seeking to venture to South Korea and other Southeast Asian markets such as Myanmar and Cambodia.

Going public and offering Kata's shares to the investors is among the company's long-term plans, he said.

"Going public is the ultimate goal. [It will probably happen] when we are ready, and I love it to be in Hong Kong. Hong Kong would be [a] nice [place to list]." Chen said

New Launch: The Poiz Residences

The Poiz Residences is developed by MCC Land, a fortune 500 company. Some projects in its portfolio includes The Santorini, Sea Horizon, Forestville and many others. It is an upcoming mixed development located along Meyappa Chettair Road (D13). Conveniently situated right above Potong Pasir MRT Station, it is poised to be the next big thing in the district of Potong Pasir.

Why The Poiz Residences

- MRT Literally At Your Doorstep (Just An Escalator Ride Away)
- Near Food Haven
- Integrated Shopping Mall With An Array Of Shops Awaits You
- 10-mins drive to CBD
- 10-mins drive to Orchard/Bugis

To be the first few to preview the showflat before it is opened to the public, you need to register with us so we can reserve an appointment slot for you (limited slots daily).

You may also contact the Official Developer Appointed Agent to enquire or book a VVIP Appointment.

Contact Elson Soh at +65 9092 6068 or email me at elsonsohyq@gmail.com. Alternative, you can visit the website HERE to register your interest. Website: http://www.theandrewresidences.biz/

High Seafood Tower

Just last Thursday, I had the honour to try out House Of Seafood's latest product, High Seafood Tower （High 鲜宝塔）. It was an event to also celebrate with the winners of the Facebook contest. High Seafood Tower is the first of its kind I've seen in Singapore.

It comprises of 6 individual pot all stacked up together with a different variety of seafood choice inside. I had the honour of serving my table, bringing out the tower to our table. When we can all finally tuck in, noone said a single word for the first 10 minutes as everyone was busy eating! Haha. Only after that then they all said that the food was indeed delicious and that the seafood is really fresh. I personally enjoyed the crab and the soup. One of the best I had eaten locally.

I personally recommend the High Seafood Tower to everyone who loves seafood and want to enjoy good food, fresh food and also suitable for friend gatherings and events. Do let me know how you think about it after you tried it!

Call now to book your table to try out High Seafood Tower at 螃蟹之家 House of Seafood with your family and friends.

- Punggol Point +65 6466 9000
- Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre +65 6285 9711

Kindness makes people happier

Visited Singapore Kindness Movement​ recently and took a photo with Dr William Wan, the Secretary- General of SKM. Thank you for sharing with me the latest #myDIYsinga project.

Kindness makes people happier and the purpose of kindness is to make a difference in someone else’s day. And kindness can indeed make a big difference.

When you are kind to others, the impact of your action doesn't stop there. Many times the recipient of your kindness and others who see or hear about your kindness are inspired to be kinder. The ripples of kindness are truly endless.

The recent case (recap: https://goo.gl/Rnoa0H) that we posted at Project Awareness Facebook, we know that Singaporeans are kind and we also see many friends from other countries are stepping in with their helping hands too.

In order to be kind, we have to pay attention to what is happening around us.  As we notice more things and help others, we get a glimpse of other ways of looking at things. A broader perspective helps us to keep things in context.

I'm also glad that my Project Coordinator Jacky Goh is starting his own initiative volunteer group to promote kindness as well. At the same time, I also noticed an increase of initiative volunteer groups lending their helping hands to Project Awareness, such as:

Happy People: https://www.facebook.com/HappyPeopleSG

Simple Helping Hands: https://www.facebook.com/simplehelpinghands
TwilightLOVE: https://www.facebook.com/twilightLOVE.SG

Kindness is everywhere and a little thought can mean so much! Remember to share and walk with us in Project Awareness.

蘇奕銓 Elson Soh
Project Awareness - Share & Walk with me

4 burning property investment questions answered

There are four commonly-asked questions often raised by followers at PropertySoul.com and readers of the book No B.S. Guide to Property Investment. So I decided to share the article here for easy reference.

Q: Is it a good time to buy properties now?
A: It depends.

If you are a savvy property investor with many years of experience, if you have the financial means and you know what you are looking for, by all means go ahead.

But most of us are just ordinary property buyers who are most likely able to afford only one or two private properties, who have no idea about what real good deals are and where to find them, who are at the mercy of restrictions of Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR), burden of additional buyer and seller stamp duties, hike of SIBOR rates, fear of market oversupply, softening of rental market, etc.

I mean no offense but property agents have to tell you “any time is a good time to buy” because they need to make a living any time of the year. Developers will say “buy now before prices go up soon” because they need to clear their unsold units before the penalties of 96 percent (8% + 16% + 24% + 24% + 24%) of land value over 5 years kick in.

The answer is: Take a good look at yourself. Know your limits and calculate the risks before taking the plunge.


Q: How do you know when housing is overpriced?

A: When prices have climbed to a point that they are out of reach for the end users, that housing becomes unaffordable for people who are buying for their own stay, that residential units are purchased only by investors and speculators looking for a quick profit, you know that housing is overpriced in that country.

Afterall, housing is a commodity and its prices are affected by supply and demand. Housing is not like collectibles that only the privileged can afford. When there is no real demand to support the supply or the price level, prices will go south.

It is especially dangerous when residential projects built for the mass market are being acquired only by investors – once these investors lose interest in the projects or lose confidence in the market, the prices will collapse.


Q. Should I buy that overseas property?

A: Many buyers are feeling the pain of the TDSR and other buying restrictions from the government’s cooling measures. They now understand that the government’s efforts in slowing the property market are not going to go away soon.

With the aggressive marketing of overseas projects, some buyers decided to go abroad to try their hands on lower quantum foreign properties.

Many don’t realize that they are actually stepping into an unknown world. Yes, they may be free of property buying restrictions in Singapore. But simultaneously, they are also exposing themselves to markets unprotected by the Singapore laws and the stability of the Singapore economy.

Now foreign property buyers start to understand that the biggest risks of buying overseas properties are the political and currency risks.

I think I have done my part to warn my readers in my 2014 blog posts “Three biggest risks buying overseas properties” and “Tough times ahead for Iskandar and Malaysia properties”.
Now it’s not the time to add salt to the wound. But let me say this again: Buy that overseas property only when you know the market or the project better than the guy selling it to you, and when the return is much higher than what you can find at home.


Q: How do tell whether it is the next hotspot or the future ghost town?

A: It doesn’t matter what the marketers say. Just remember this: The proliferation of construction projects or residential development itself cannot do miracles to transform a remote place into the next modern town. Everything must start with economic activities.

It can be a government decision or the locals’ initiative to promote an industry there. When activities start to gain traction, the creation of job opportunities will naturally attract people to move there. The growth in population creates the demand for housing and amenities. That in turn makes the place a hot market for residential and commercial projects.

If people try to work everything the other way round, the outcome is likely to be a new ghost town.

As what I said in my blog post “When property hotspots become ghost towns”, ask yourself the following questions before you buy into that “property hotspot”:

1. What are the industries there and how can they support the growth of the local economy?

2. How is the salary growth of the existing population compared with the hike in property prices?

3. Where is the new population coming from and how fast can it grow?

Answers to these three questions should immediately give you a hint to whether this place is going to be the next hotspot or just another ghost town.

Source: 4 burning property investment questions answered

If you wish to buy or invest in any property, just give me a ring at +65 9092 6068 or email me at elsonsohyq@gmail.com for a free consultation. On hand, I do have a few good and worthy properties that you can consider whether to buy for your own or for investment, just call me for viewing if you are keen to explore more.

Hectic month

This August is a interesting month for me. Apart from the recent NDP celebration show at Waterfront Promenade organised by Uncle Ringo, I also get to meet my new music production team Flipside Production and looking forward to start my new song recording too. 

It is also a very hectic month for me as apart from being a singer, I also run my own IT Software and Online marketing business I-Asia Star Pte Ltd and a property agent. Anybody keen to rent, sell or buy any HDB, private, landed or commercial property, can contact me directly at +65 9092 6068. If I never pick up your call, you can whatsapp me and I will revert accordingly. I also work with investors who look to find good properties to invest in.

Lastly I would like to thank my buddy Jacky Goh and my volunteers at Project Awareness for your effort in spreading love around Singapore. Next week, I will continue my regular house-visiting after I settle all my work on hand!

Uncle Ringo's carnival - Celebrating 50 years of fun with NDP, SG50 and Our Golden Jubilee

Yesterday I finally get to meet the man of my childhood dreams! Dont get me wrong though, I'm referring to Uncle Ringo. If you havent heard of him, he is the man behind the carnivals you see in Singapore. 

For many years of my life I have been to Uncle Ringo's carnival but have never met the man before, yesterday was indeed a great honour! Turns out to be Uncle Ringo is a super friendly man! He brought me around his carnival and we played a few games together. 

I missed the bumper car ride the most. So happy to have the chance to play it! Haha. Jacky Goh and my music producer Hangi Tavakoli also joined in the fun. It was indeed an unforgettable night for me! I also hope to play the games together with a few of my music supporters if you guys are free to join me. 

Uncle Ringo's carnival will be there from now till 10 August 2015. You can check out Uncle Ringo official Facebook for more information and updates on this carnival. Anyway have you check out my video on YouTube as you can see me enjoying some of the games at Uncle Ringo's carnival. Now I m planning an outing for the beneficiaries from Project Awareness and low-income families from Happy People, as I hope to spread the happiness to them during this super long NDP weekend! 

On top of that, I will be performing on 9 and 10 August at the carnival right after NDP 2015. Hope to see everyone there to celebrate Singapore's 50th Birthday together! Let me know which song you would like me to perform on both days by leaving your comment here. Lastly do check out the Facebook contest at my official Facebook Page now.

SHARE & WIN 《Uncle Ringo》 20 sets of $20 Game Credits

1. LIKE Elson Soh 蘇奕銓 Facebook Page
2. SHARE this video to your Facebook
3. COMMENT "Have fun with Uncle Ringo at Waterfront Promenade till 10 August 2015" at your Facebook

20 Lucky winners will be selected and notify via Facebook on 5 August 2015! What are you waiting for now? The more you share, the highest chance to be selected! Share daily now!

《Uncle Ringo》 at Waterfront Promenade is now open till 10 August 2015 (Monday) in celebration with NDP, SG50 and Our Golden Jubilee. ‪#‎UncleRingo‬ ‪#‎玲可叔叔‬

Fun Carnival Operating Hours:

6pm to 11pm (Weekdays)
1pm to 11pm (Weekends and Public Holidays)

FREE Admission to public members and do spread around!

Thank you MP Mr Baey Yam Keng and Boss Francis Ng

15 July 2015, was a date I remember vividly. This is because it's the day when my idol MP Mr Baey Yam Keng joined me including my volunteers of Project Awareness and the team from Gremio Capital for a round of distribution at Tampines! 

It is an eye opener for me to see an MP climbing every flight of stairs visiting every single household with no complains. Best of all, he is very well liked by his residents! Thank you Mr Baey for taking time off to join us! 

After distribution we went to House of Seafood 螃蟹之家 at Punggol Settlement for lunch! Boss Francis Ng was very generous as he prepared a spread for us! Not forgetting thank you Cindy Low, the marketing from House of Seafood for hosting us during the lunch with MP Mr Baey and team from Gremio Capital.

Actually I really like going to House of Seafood for meals especially in a large group. Their service is excellent and the quality of food is superb. I even brought my mum and family there during my mum's birthday celebration! Not to say my family enjoyed every dish to the last serving. Haha! 

Coming few months will be super busy for me. Thank you to everyone who have walked through this long journey with me!

Kindness is an important quality to have

Project Awareness (A计划) started on 20 February 2013 and it is never an easy journey for me. Nevertheless, I'm glad that I still able to help as many under-privileged people as possible with the assistance and trust from my volunteers and supporters. At Project Awareness, we have three on-going projects that promote kindness, namely: Project Helping Hand, Project Animal Care and Project Go Green. Thank you everyone and let continue to be kind and spread the love around. 

Today I would like to talk about kindness and I believe many people might be wondering what is kindness and why kindness is an important quality to have.

When someone is kind, it means he or she is considerate and nice to others. Some good examples of kindness are saying please and thank you, sharing, and doing anything that helps others. When you treat other people with kindness, both people feel good! Wouldn't it be wonderful to sprinkle more of these words and actions in our home, our work, our community? 

When carrying out acts of kindness, care should be taken not to intrude or embarrass - 'discretion' is the operative word. Give you smile or whatever, and then move on, unless the receiver gives out signals that they would like to talk. If you linger, the receiver could feel an obligation to reciprocate, or perhaps become embarrassed and resent the kind act. Some kind acts may be able to be carried out anonymously. It absolves the receiver of any sense of awkwardness or indebtedness, and for the giver, it becomes an enjoyable game. Also, anonymous kindness bypasses our ego's demand for attention, and is the highest form of kindness.

As for the kind acts that we can carry out toward animals and nature are not difficult to imagine. It is in our interest to be friendly toward animals, and to ensure they are cared for, even if they are not our own. We all have a duty to ensure that animals are not mistreated or neglected, and if they are, to take appropriate steps to ensure the situation is remedied. Whether or not we acknowledge it, humanity has a strong bond with nature, and if we choose to ignore this, we do so at our peril. For too long nature has been considered as something that can be destroyed or plundered. The well-being of our world (and civilisation) is dependent upon this culture of abuse being eradicated. 

We must also consider future generations, and this means being more careful in our consumption of electricity and water. Even though this message is being vigorously promoted by the electricity and water suppliers, few seem interested in reducing their usage. There has been a fall of over ten percentage points in the last ten years of people concerned about the state of the environment. This is alarming. Do what you can to help the environment - you will also be helping to create a better world for your children and grandchildren.

It’s important to try and always be kind. You don’t need to have a reason for being kind it’s something you can do simply because it’s the right way to treat others! Kindness doesn’t have to cost you anything except a quick moment to give a hug, share a laugh, or tell someone how much they’re appreciated. Pass it on!

Humankind is capable of such beautiful things, and how sad it is that we lose sight of this all too easily. Will you help to warm your home, your work, your community, by using a greater number of such soft words and actions? Lastly, I would like to thank my sponsors, supporters and volunteers for whatever you had contributed for Project Awareness, also special thank to my good buddy Jacky Goh, my mentor Tan Lam Siong, including Tampines GRC MP Baey Yam Keng and Singapore Kindness Movement Mr William Wan.