Gods, ghosts, special birthdays - Taiwan loves festivities but three major festivals punctuate the calendar: the Chinese New Year, or lunar New Year celebrations held in winter; the dragon boat races around mid-summer; and the moon festival in autumn. Every occasion is regarded as an auspicious time to strengthen family ties and from across the island or abroad, many Taiwanese make an effort to return home.
Taiwan Chinese New Year Celebrations, Paper Lanterns and Lunar New Year Spring Festival
Set in late January or February, according to the full moon, the Chinese New Year celebrations, also known as spring festival, bring the longest public holiday in Taiwan. The Taiwanese clean their homes, frame their front door with lucky rhymes, party with colleagues and friends and pay respect to ancestors and gods. Red cash envelopes are given as auspicious presents, oranges and rice cakes add more good fortune and a traditional New Year’s eve dinner is shared in extended families. Come midnight, the lunar New Year is greeted with a bang as fireworks and crackers light up the sky.
The two-week-long celebrations culminate in a spectacular lantern festival when red Chinese paper lanterns in all shapes and sizes are lit across the island. In Pingsi, south east of Taipei, and other venues in turn, thousands of lanterns are released into the night sky, carrying good wishes to the stars. Sweet dumplings are eaten on that day, their round shape symbolising the full moon and family unit.
Taiwan Moon Festival, Friendship and Mooncakes
The moon has long been celebrated in Chinese culture, not only for beauty and romance but for its importance in the crop cycle. Held on the 15th night of the 8th lunar month, the moon festival is also the harvest festival. That night, many families head for a scenic spot to watch the moon rise, be it a garden or rooftop, and pomelos and mooncakes are eaten in celebration.
The Chinese word for pomelo sounds like the character for ‘blessing’ while mooncakes are chosen for their round shape defining togetherness. They are also remembered for their role in defeating the Mongols when Han Chinese hid messages inside. Today decorative boxes of moon cakes are offered to friends, relatives or employees but their high calorie content has led the more health conscious Taiwanese to replace them with tea or red wine.
Dragon Boat Race in Taiwan
The annual dragon boat festival commemorates an administrator and patriotic poet exiled in the 3rd century BC. Qu Yuan jumped to his death into the river, fishermen rushed to the rescue but unable to help, threw glutinous rice into the water to keep the fish away from his body. Zongzi, the glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, is still eaten on this occasion. Aromatic herbs are hung above the doors to keep away evil and according to legend, anyone who can manage to stand on an egg will be lucky for the whole year.
The highlight of the festival is the dragon boat race when competing teams row to the beat of a drum, representing the ancient struggle to save the drowning poet. Boats, up to 100 foot long, are painted in bright colours, dragon-like with open mouth, long tail and sacred eye. Dragon boat races are held in major cities around the island on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
Source: Taiwan A to Z by Amy C. Liu
Solange Hando - I am a travel writer, editor and photographer, contributing to a range of publications in the UK and worldwide.
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