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In Singapore, are any of the following likely to be open on Christmas Day? What about Christmas Eve? Does it depend on the area of the city?

  • Neighborhood coffee shops
  • Malls
  • Hawker centres
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  • Just found this thread again. My (suburban) neighborhood kopitiam closed but the little stores nearby were open as usual, as was the nearby mall. Huge cognitive dissonance being somewhere 90 degrees F and sunny on Christmas (my first Christmas out of the Northern Hemisphere).
    – Urbana
    Mar 8, 2017 at 10:12

2 Answers 2

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Almost everything will be open. Some small businesses might take the opportunity to take a break. But shopping centres, etc. will certainly be open.

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Singapore businesses, unlike European countries / US states, doesn't treat Christmas a a "family gathering" season. So most malls, coffee shops and hawker centres will be opened.

Singapore is more like the other Asian countries (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc.) that have the lunar new year as the "family gathering" season. Most shops and food places will most probably be closed during

  • the evening of the eve of lunar new year,
  • lunar new year itself and
  • possibly 1-2 days after lunar new year depending on whether lunar new year falls near the weekend.
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  • 3
    This also depends on the ethnicity: while what you say is true for the Chinese majority, Malay-run shops will usually close during Hari Raya (Eid al-Fitr) instead, and Indian-run ones during Deepavali (Diwali). Dec 27, 2015 at 22:01
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    Your remark about most shops being closed on Chinese New Year is false. See the similar Q about CNY in Singapore where I also provided an answer. Again, small businesses will likely take a break but everything else including tourist attractions and shopping centres are open every day of the year.
    – user8803
    Dec 28, 2015 at 11:39

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