Chinese New Year (National Holiday)

Chinese New Year is the biggest traditional and most meaningful festival, which lasts for about a week. There are different customs on each day of the week, and one of the most significant is New Year’s Eve dinner. It’s a happy reunion time for all family members, and there are some must-eat special dishes. For example, fish represent harvest and “prosperity through the year”; rice cakes mean to encourage advancement in the coming year. After enjoying the feast, people will stay up all night to welcome the beginning of New Year.
On the first day of New Year, people wear new clothes and give New Year’s greetings. We say “Gong Si Fa Tsai”, as saying “congratulations and wealth”. Children receive red envelopes with cash from their elder relatives, which means receiving bless. We also worship ancestors and gods today to express thankfulness.
There are various interesting customs of Chinese New Year to celebrate and to pray for the upcoming promising year. One can experience the abundance of Chinese culture in it.

Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival is on the fifteenth day of the first month. The first month in lunar calendar is called “Yuan Yue” In Chinese. Lanterns represents hope and peace, and in honor of gods. We go on streets carrying paper lanterns with various sizes and shapes, watching the lantern fair, and competing to solve the riddles on the lanterns of temples for prizes.
People eat “Tang Yuan” (glutinous rice ball), as a symbol of harmony, happiness and reunion of the family.
In Ping-xi, special events for the Lantern Festival are held. There is a grand Sky Lantern festival. People write down their wishes on the sky-lanterns and release them into the sky. When thousands of sky-lanterns fly in the sky, it is an unforgettable breath-taking scene.
While in Tainan, the Yan-Shui Beehive fireworks is really famous. Legend has it that being attack by fire rockets can get rid of bad luck. Fire rockets are just like angry bees, explode everywhere, and people enjoy the thrilling feeling a lot. It was even once chosen as one of the global top ten popular festivals.

Dragon Boat Festival (National Holiday)

Legend has it that once upon a time in ancient China, there was a man loyal to his own country called Qu Yuan. However, he was maliciously accused of treason by other courtiers and the king sentenced him to deportation. During days of exile, Qu Yuan composed series of great poems, expressing his indignation. On May fifth of the lunar calendar, he committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River out of desperation. For saving Qu Yuan, local people rushed to row boats, and at the same time threw balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish wouldn’t eat Qu Yuan’s body. These actions evolved into the tradition of dragon boat races and eating zhong-zi (glutinous rice dumpling) on May fifth of the lunar calendar. And in memory of Qu Yuan, it’s also called “Poets Day.
During Dragon Boat Festival, everyone takes a day off in Taiwan and dragon boat races are held nationwide. Multiple activities are practiced such as eating zhong-zi, wearing sachets, hanging fragrant herbs like mugworts and calami on the door to drive evil spirits away and egg standing at high noon.

Mid-Autumn Festival (National Holiday)

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also called the Moon Festival, is the holiday with the most romantic atmosphere. Because this holiday occurs during the autumn, when the harvest season is over, people in earlier days chose this day to make offerings and thank the gods for the bountiful harvest. The celebration has become a time for families to get together. The most notable myth concerning this festival is that Chang-e flying to the moon after secretly drinking her husband’s elixir of life. Aside from this, there are also tales of the Jade Rabbit and of “Wu Gang chopping down the cassia tree. “Because most of the activities held on this holiday are related to the moon, it has come to be known as “Moon Day.” Important activities at this time include eating moon cakes, which symbolize unity and camaraderie; strolling under the full moon; and eating pomelos, since the Chinese term for pomelo sounds like “care and protection.” Originating in Taiwan, the new custom of barbecuing has been gaining popularity in recent years.

Teacher’s Day (Appreciation Day)

September 28th is the birthday of the most influential person in Chinese culture. It’s Confucius birthday. As the first and greatest teacher, we now celebrate his birthday to show our gratitude towards the teachers and professors. Also, some local rituals worship the Confucius on that day.