The people in Taiwan have similar leisure activities that can be found mostly in other countries. They have cafes for people to sit around, bookstores for avid readers, cinemas for movie junkies and night clubs and pubs for people who love to stay up late. What would set each country apart in terms of their leisure activities are the festivals they hold in esteem.
Taiwan is largely made up of Chinese people. It would not be a surprise that they would celebrate similar festivals as with China and other countries with a large population of Chinese. Some of the major national holidays are:
Founding Day of the Republic of China
Lunar New Year
Memorial Day
Tomb Sweeping day
Dragon Boat Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival
National Day
Founding Day of the Republic of China
It is celebrated on January 1, New Years day, to signify the overthrowing of the Qing Dynasty on 1 January 1912.
Chinese New Year
This is the grandest festival that any Chinese would celebrate. It follows the Chinese lunar calendar and the dates change every year. This festival is held to welcome the birth of a new year and Spring. Everyone wears new clothes on the first day of Chinese New year.
Tomb Sweeping Day
This day is a national holiday, held on 5 April annually. The Taiwanese would visit the tombs of their ancestors and clean it. They would then burn incense and provide offerings as well as burning incense paper into a small chimney built into the tomb.
Beigang Matsu Festival
This festival is held once every year on Matsu’s birthday at her principle temple in Beigang. Devotees would come from all over the island, carrying their local gods on their shoulders on a palanquin as spiritual ambassadors. Firecrackers are set off to scare evil spirits away. Incense paper and sticks would be burned as offering to Matsu. At night, there would be mediums called Dangki performing rituals which would involve putting swords and nail encrusted wooden rods through their bodies.
Dragon Boat Festival
In 221 BC, Qu Yuan, a righteous court official who plotted to overthrow the evil emperor was double crossed by evil court officials. He drowned himself as a form of protest. He was well-liked by the people and they sadden by his demise. They made rice dumplings and threw them into the water to feed the fishes so they would not eat Qu Yuan’s body. Rescue efforts were made by the people who rowed the boats. To commemorate this noble person, the people eat rice dumplings and have Dragon boat races annually.
Dragon boat races
Tasty rice dumplings!
Ghost month
On the first day of the lunar seventh month, it is believed that the gates of hell would open and all the spirits in the nether world would come out. Wedding, businesses and moving of house are halted for the entire month. People would offer the spirits incense money and fruits. They would have a dinner at home on the 15th of the month especially for the spirits. They would set the food on the table to allow the spirits to consume them first before tucking in themselves.
Confucius’ Birthday
The philosopher’s birthday falls on 28 September. Confucian temples would hold solemn rites in traditional costumes and traditional music. There are tickets sold for the ceremony and it must be bought in advance.
Mid-Autumn Festival
Celebrated on the 15th day of the lunar eighth month, people would appreciate the full moon while eating mooncakes. Tales had it that mooncakes were used to hide secret notes which contained secret messages that revolutionaries transmitted to each other without the knowing of the Mongolian ruler. The message was distributed to the Han people using the excuse of an epidemic and that the preventive measure was to eat mooncakes. The message told the Han people to come together on the 15th of the eighth lunar month to overthrow the Mongolian ruler.
When one mentions Taiwan, one would think of its bustling night markets, beautiful sceneries and its natural hot springs. The people are nice and friendly, amiable and gentle. The country is known for being a beautiful place where one can truly relax and unwind. Have a look at the videos below. They are videos portraying what one could look forward to in Taiwan. Over the years, they have shown different sides of Taiwan.
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