Singer-songwriter Dick Lee has said that Christmas elements in this year's Orchard Road Christmas light-up were "too insignificant to be noticed".

Lee's gave his comments to The Straits Times (ST) on Nov. 29, adding that during his past involvement in designing the Christmas light-up on previous occasions, he would aim to convey the festive elements while retaining an atmosphere of Christmas.

Case in point, in 2015, Lee's collaboration with designer Yang De Rong on the Orchard Road Christmas light-up focused on bells and baubles, as reported by ST.

Lee further stated that Christmas contained a tradition of identifiable icons such as the nutcracker and gift boxes, which he saw little point in altering as it might remove the distinct seasonal vibe of Christmas.

Lee told ST:

"Perhaps there is too much emphasis on Disney, and too little on Christmas."

Essence of comments mirror that of NCCS

Lee's comments comes after an earlier criticism of the Christmas decorations made by The National Council of Churches (NCCS).

On Nov. 19, NCCS a letter penned to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), stating that Christmas is a festival that “commemorates the incarnation and birth of… Jesus Christ”.

However, the letter added, this essence of Christmas is “buried under… (an) extensive and sophisticated brand promotion exercise”.

NCCS further questioned if Disney characters should be the “sole focus” of a Christian festival.

Humanist Society (Singapore) expresses concern

The letter by NCCS drew a response in turn from the Humanist Society (Singapore) (HSS).

On Nov. 26, HSS published a letter on their website, expressing their concern that the letter by NCCS was detracting from the historical significance of Christmas.

HSS explained that this was due to Christmas having pre-Christian origins, having been historically celebrated as the Winter Solstice/Saturnalia by a variety of ethnic groups living in the northern hemisphere.

HSS also attributed multiple festive elements of Christmas to a variety of pre-Christian European traditions, such as gift-giving stemming from the celebration of Saturnalia in pre-Christian Rome and the figure of Santa Claus having roots in Norse mythology.

HSS concluded their letter with a call to be responsible and compassionate, while celebrating Christmas in the way "one chooses to".

Here is a Facebook post of the letter:

Singaporeans react to Lee

Most Singaporeans reacted with a shrug towards Lee's comments, wondering what the fuss was all about.

One commentator pointed out however, that the essence of the Orchard Christmas decorations was really capitalism.

Top image via Orchard Road Facebook

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