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| The Year of the Snake |
Most of Taiwan’s
traditional holidays are marked through the use of the Lunar Calendar. modern Holidays are marked through the Solar
Calendar. Let’s take a look at the Taiwanese
Holidays:
Chinese New
Year: 春節Lunar Date is January 1.
(February 10, 2013) This is the
most important holiday of the year. It
is celebrated much the same way that Christmas is celebrated in the west. Families gather for 3-15 days. Traditional meals are served on Chinese New
Year’s Eve. People are given gifts of
Hong Bao 紅包 these are gifts of
money that are a wish of prosperity for the recipient.
The Lantern
Festival: 元宵節 Lunar date is January 15. (February 25, 2013) This is the first day a
full moon can be seen in the New Year.
People celebrate by lighting and launching sky lanterns. There are also huge venues where people go
to see artistically made lanterns and watch them launched. People often write prayers and wishes on the
side of the lanterns before they are released. The traditional food for the Lantern festival is the tangyuan 湯圓 (soup circle) These are balls of gooey, sweet rice gluten.
Qingming Festival: 清明節 Solar Holiday: April 4, 2013. During the Qingming Festival families gather
to sweep the tombs of departed ancestors.
It is a day to honor the dead.
Many people use this day to burn incense and worship their ancestors.
Duanwu Jie (The
Dragon Boat Festival): 端午節 Lunar
date is May 5. (June 12, 2013) his festival honors Chinese Poet Quan
Yu. It is celebrated with the racing of
the dragon boats. People eat a special
sticky rice pyramid called a
Zongzi.
Night of Sevens: 七夕
Lunar date is July 7. (August
13, 2013) This holiday celebrates the
legendary love of Niulang and
Zhinu. According to legend they are
forever separated, but are allowed to unite on July 7. The Taiwanese view this as a romantic night
celebrated much like Valentine’s Day in the west.
Ghost Festival: 中元節 Lunar date is July 15. (August 21,
2013) The festival honors the departed
ancestors. People commemorate this day
by placing offerings of incense, food and beverages outside their homes and the
burning of spirit money for the family members who have departed the
world. This is the most important date
of Ghost Month (The whole month of July on the lunar calendar.)
Mid-Autumn Moon
Festival: 中秋節 Lunar date is August 15. (September 19, 2013) This is the day when most people get
together with friends and family and barbeque.
Look for an in-depth post on the Moon Festival in September. A gift is given to friends and family of
moon cakes. Circular cakes made with
egg yolks and other things inside. The
shape represents the moon and the cakes themselves are good wishes for the
recipient.
Double Ninth
Festival: 重陽節 Lunar Date is September 9. (October 13, 2013) People usually celebrate this holiday by climbing mountains or
visiting flower shows.
Xia Yuan
Festival: 下元節 Lunar date is October 15. (November 17, 2013) During this festival people pray to the
water god for a peaceful year.
Winter
Solstice: 冬至 Solar Holiday (December 21, 2013)
This corresponds to the Winter Solstice in Zwestern Countries. Families gather to celebrate on this day.
Kitchen God Festival: 謝灶Lunar
date is December 23. (January 23,
2014) This is the day to thank the
kitchen god. It is believed that
on the twenty third day of the twelfth lunar month, just before Chinese New
Year he returns to Heaven to report the activities of every household over the
past year to the Jade Emperor (Yu Huang). The Jade Emperor, emperor of the
heavens, either rewards or punishes a family based on Zao Jun's yearly report.
One final note is
that the Chinese Zodiac is broken down into 12 years. Each year corresponds to a particular animal. It is believed that people born in a particular
year will share the traits of the animal mentioned. The following is a breakdown of the Zodiac and the corresponding
years from 1924 through 2031. See if
you can fid yours.
Rat 1924 1936
1948 1960 1972
1984 1996 2008 2020
Ox 1925 1937
1949 1961 1973
1985 1997 2009 2021
Tiger 1926 1938
1950 1962 1974
1986 1998 2010 2022
Rabbit 1927 1939
1951 1963 1975
1987 1999 2011 2023
Dragon 1928 1940
1952 1964 1976
1988 2000 2012 2024
Snake 1929 1941
1953 1965 1977
1989 2001 2013 2025
Horse 1930
1942
1954 1966 1978
1990 2002 2014 2026
Sheep 1931 1943
1955 1967 1979
1991 2003 2015 2027
Monkey 1932 1944
1956 1968 1980
1992 2004 2016 2028
Rooster 1933 1945
1957 1969 1981
1993 2005 2017 2029
Dog 1934 1946
1958 1970 1982
1994 2006 2018 2030
Boar 1935 1947
1959 1971 1983
1995 2007 2019 2031
