| The Red Cliff -from Chin Dynasty | Tibetan Buddhist Ceremonial Object | 
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Chinese or lunar New Year is the longest and most important festival in Taiwan. Customs include paying off debts, purchasing new clothes, thoroughly cleaning the house, enjoying sumptuous family feasts, offering sacrifices to the gods, and giving friends and relatives"red envelopes"containing"lucky money."firecrackers explode throughout the night on New year's Eve and sporadically on the following days. New Year's Eve and the first three days of the new year are observed as a pubic holiday, although this break sometimes lasts up to a week. Movie theaters and major restaurants are essentially the only businesses open during the holiday. People return to work between the fifth and eighth days of the new year, but the holiday atmosphere lasts through the Lantern Festival, on the 15th day of the first lunar month. The Lunar New Year starts on Feb.10,1994; Jan.31,1995; and feb.19,1996. |
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The people of ancient China believed that celestial spirits could be seen flying about in the light of the first full moon of the new lunar year. Over time, their torch-lit search for spirits evolved into the Lantern Festival, now celebrated in temples and parks with colorful lanterns. Traditionally, Chinese parents prepared lanterns for their children to carry on the school day of the new year to symbolize the hope that the children would have bright futures. In modern Taiwan, small children carrying lanterns roam the streets on the evening of the festival. The Taipei Lantern Festival, held at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, features thousands of elaborate lanterns, dragon and lion dances, folk arts demonstrations, acrobatic performances, and ceremonial temple processions. This grand, three-day celebration. Chinese culture attracts millions of revelers every year. The week-long Tourism Festival is held during the same week as the Lantern Festival, and is an excellent time to tour the island since many tourist hotels offer room discounts and major scenic spots have reduced admission. One of the world's most unique festivals, coinciding with the Lantern festival, is the famous "rocket hives" fireworks show at Yenshui. For nearly 200 years the town has fired off these "hives," each of which launches of large, unaimed bottle rockets, to commemorate a successful fight against a plague. But beware , even with protective clothing, eye injuries and burns occur. The Lantern Festival is on Feb. 24, 1994; Feb. 14,1995;and March 4,1996. |
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Boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival commemorate the attempt to rescue the patriotic poet Chu Yuan, who drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 B.C. Unable to save him, the people threw bamboo stuffed with cooked rice into the water so that the fish would eat the rice rather than the body of their hero. This evolved into the present custom of eating tzungtzu, rice dumplings filled with ham or bean paste and wrapped in bamboo leaves. Since antiquity the Chinese have believed that the fifth lunar month is a pestilential, danger-fraught period. Sanitation is emphasized, medicines are added to food, aromatic branches are hung above doors, and beautifully embroidered protective amulets or sachets containing spices or medicines are fastened to the clothing of children. Large crowds attend the festive boat races in Taipei, Lukang, Taiwan, and Kaohsiung. Teams from all over the world compete in the races as excited observers cheer form the river ranks. The Dragon Boat Festival is on June 13,1994 ; and June 2,1995 ; and June 20,1996. |
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Savor the tastes that once pleased China's emperors and explore the fascinating varieties, customs, and dining traditions of China. The Taipei Chinese Food Festival offers the chance to sample all of the regional cooking styles of Chinese cuisine. Taipei rightly boasts the world's best Chinese food, and best chefs from the city's top restaurants and hotels prepare an infinite range of mouth-watering dishes, as well as vegetable, fruit, and ice carvings. Demonstrations and lectures teach food preparation, table setting, the art of tea drinking, and dining etiquette. The Taipei Chinese Food Festival is held at the Sungshan Domestic Airports. In 1994, dates are Aug.12 to 15. For further information, contact the ROC Tourism Bureau. |
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The Birthday of confucius is celebrated with a dawn ceremony-parts of which date back nearly 3,000 years-at Confucius Temples around the island. The ceremony includes a ritual dance, costumes, music, and other rites. (Due to limited space, the ceremony in Taipei is by invitation only, but dress rehearsal are open to the public .) The teachings of Confucius are not a religion. Rather, are a guide to appropriate personal behavior and good government, and they stress the virtues of self-discipline and generosity. Confucius held the radical view that all who possessed the depth and desire to learn, not just the aristocracy, deserved the opportunity of formal education. For this reason, his birthday, Sept. 28, is celebrated as Teacher's Day, and is a national holiday in the ROC. |
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The last major festival of the year is the ROC's national day. Double Ten Day commemorates the anniversary of the Oct. 10, 1911 revolution which led to the overthrow of the corrupt Ching (Manchu) dynasty and the Republic of China. It is marked with grand parades in front of Taipei's Presidential Office Building, folk dances, acrobatics, dragon and lion dances, and displays of martial arts. A huge fireworks show over the Tamsui River ends the day. |
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Chinese folk arts developed from the country's customs and traditions. Some arose from the needs of everyday life or a desire for entertainment. Others are closely related to important festivals or symbolize Chinese values or legends. Wharever the source , many of the folk arts practiced in Taiwan have changed little over the centuries, and today these handicrafts make unusual mementos of the exotic culture which fostered them. |
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The Chinese have long been masters of the art of carving, and the intricate detail wrought by skilled artisans can be surprising. Some of the best examples in Taiwan of both wood and stone carvings are in the temples-wooden idols, stone lions, pillars, and engraved wall murals. Decorative wood carvings and just about everything bamboo, from bird cages to furniture, can be found in most department stores and gift shops in major cities. |
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