Taiwan: Festivities and celebrations

The most important festivities of this country are the same as those that occur in the Republic of China, as is the case of the Chinese New Year and the Spring Festival that takes place between the end of January and the beginning of February. There are many visitors who divert their trips to Taiwan to see these holidays.

It is also very interesting the party of the lantern, whose name is that of yuan hsiao and which is celebrated two weeks after the new year, with a fireworks show, a form of celebration very typical of China showing that this was the country in which gunpowder was invented.

Spring Festival: The Chinese New Year marks the beginning of the lunar year. It is the moment when families make sacrifices to their ancestors and to a pantheon with a mix of Taoist and Buddhist deities. Preparations for this event go on for a month. The day before, rockets are launched to scare off evil spirits. Relatives and friends take the opportunity to greet each other during the first weeks of the new year.

Bluff party : Party known as yuan hsiao, takes place two weeks after the Chinese New Year. It begins with a fireworks display that marks the first full moon of the new year, and reaches its climax with a procession of lanterns of up to three kilometers in length. The participants walk in a special way, grouping the steps of seven in seven or eight in eight, which makes the procession meander like a centipede. According to tradition, this is done to invoke the protective deities, while the lanterns constitute the symbolic prolongation of the glorious Chinese past.

Dragon Boat Festival: The dragon boat party (Tuan Wu) is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, coinciding with the beginning of summer and is considered an unfortunate month. In order to expel the evil, multi-colored lanterns are lit, realgar wine is drunk and purification ceremonies are performed with sagebrush. Dragon boat races and tzung-tsu (rice balls wrapped in bamboo leaves) commemorate the efforts to find Ch'u Yuan (died in 290 BC), a patriotic poet.

Mid-Autumn Party: The mid-autumn party (Chung Ch'iu) takes place on the 15th of the eighth lunar month to celebrate the successful harvest. The moon reaches a great size on this day, so it is a prominent symbol in all the celebrations related to this holiday.

Birth of Confucius: Confucius is revered as the greatest of the sages and model of humanity, so the date of his birth, September 28, is also the day of the teacher, official holiday in the Republic of China. In the early hours of the morning there is a solemn ceremony with dances, music and classical costumes in all the Confucian temples of the nation.

Party of Double Ten: October 10 is celebrated the uprising of Wuchangen 1911, which led to the founding of the Republic of China. Among the activities of the day include colorful parades and fireworks shows. The buildings, streets and squares are decorated with great color for the occasion. Social and cultural events are celebrated.

Other National Holidays: Other holidays are the anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China (January 1), the day of youth (March 29), the Day of the Dead (4-6 April), the birth of Chang Kaichek (October 31), the birth of Sun-Yat-Sen (November 12) and Constitution Day (December 25).