Lantern Festival (燈會 denghui)

The Chinese New Year goes on for two weeks, and each of the days has a different corresponding activity that the people do. On the last day, celebrating the new year once more, there is a lantern festival. It show cases the schools' and groups' lanterns around the city. They are all handmade, and quite the magnificent works of art! Some are traditional lanterns, some are contemporary types of the typical lantern, and some are just fun. I saw the basic spherical lantern with designs on the outside, tubular lanterns made by local artists, and even "transformers" made into lanterns. Thousands of people showed up, from near and far. And thus, you can probably tell the about the crowds. It was packed and I was being pushed around in all directions!

I went to the Taipei Lantern Festival one evening to see what all the business was about. It was jam packed! I could barely get 100 meters without have an ounce of trouble. Haha! But the lanterns were impressive! A good amount of them were made by elementary and middle school students. Why couldn't we make these lanterns when were their ages? They were huge, and super artistic! Such detail and difficulty... I was amazed. 

There were even shows going on: puppet shows (puppeteering is a popular art here in Taiwan, it is both fun and traditional!). There was also an acrobatic show by the Taipei Opera House, which was really cool. 

However, I didn't stay in Taipei, I went back to Lukang to visit my host family once again to see the Taiwan Lantern Festival. Here there was many more people, more than I had ever seen. But the sights were truly not to miss. It was very similar to the festival in Taipei, that with lanterns being showcased from students, artists, and different groups. But in the middle of the festival grounds was a huge lantern made to be a dragon. When it was lit, there were lights, lasers, fog, and music going everywhere! People cheered and shot off fireworks; the entire place had this aura of pure joy. It was super cool. 

Plus, there was a bunch of food to go around, and we got to try some new things. But I was being picked out by some locals to get their pictures taken with me! What can I say, I'm famous! Haha. 

The next day we went back to the grounds and toured around in the daylight. Disneyland Tokyo came to the festival and held a huge parade with dancers, bands, and even some characters! That was a real treat, because they didn't just do the spectacles you see in Disneyworld, but traditional dances from Japan and Taiwan. Everywhere there were groups putting on different dances and music (some where even on stilts!). 

I can say, the Taiwanese definitely know how to party and celebrate. The Chinese New Year is the most important festival to them. It's like our Christmas, and it's extraordinary, indeed. But with the new year coming to a close, it starts the year with great memories and good wishes for the upcoming days ahead. 

Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is a huge spectacle in Taiwan and in many Asian countries. It is a celebration of the renewal of the lunar calendar, which on this year fell in late January. For an entire week people close down shop and spend time with their families, occasionally going to an event. But there's massive amount of eating and drinking. And let me tell you, I was stuffed!

For the New Year I went down to Lukang in Changhua County, which is about 3 hours south of Taipei by bus. The trip down there was alright, but I had to unexpectedly change buses. The driver pulled to the side and turned off the bus. Thinking I was there I just got off. He stopped me and said: "Where are you going to?" (In Chinese of course) And I answered him. At my response he kind of freaked out, grabbed my arm and my luggage, and quickly dragged me across the highway which we were on, and told to make a break for it to the nearest bus station. It was crazy! I ran.... and ran... thank God that the bus driver saw me and waited for me. Phew! Haha!

But once I arrived in Lukang, I was met by my wonderful host family. It turned out that the TA in one of my classes was in my host family. So I already knew him! That really helped actually, because when I meet new people I am very shy, but since I knew him, I felt like I could ease into being the normal me easier. Of course, I was still shy, but the family was definitely open and hospitable.

Right when I arrived, "Mom" (haha) had dinner all ready! But before I could see it, we had to go to the third floor of the house and honor the ancestors. It is a traditional belief to let the ancestors "eat" and bless the food first before you eat it. In that sense, spirit money, which is specially designed pieces of paper, is burned in a furnace. Spirit money is a way of sending good tidings to the spirit world. Nick (my TA) told me it was so they could have fun in the spirit world. Haha, I don't know if that's true or not. But anyways, he got the point across.

Then we went down to eat, and it was a massive set of delicious foods, most of them I had never seen before! There was shrimp with rice noodles, chilled pork, prawns, seafood hot pot, greens (namely qingcai), cabbage, and various other delicious dishes. Two specific dishes that I remember were three seafood dishes. At first Nick gave me a prawn and put it in my bowl. I looked at him and said: "What do I do with this?" They all laughed and taught me how to eat it. I was quite impressed with myself, and I ate it too! Then they gave me a toothpick with a piece of pear and a brown-reddish chuck of something on it. When I asked what it was, they told me it was compressed and dried fish eggs. The saltiness from the eggs goes well with the sweetness of the pear. That was actually pretty hard to eat, as I am not keen on seafood, especially fish eggs. Haha, but it went down. And lastly they opened up a plastic container of dried mini shrimp. I looked up at "Dad" (haha) and he just popped it in his mouth, head, legs, and all. I was shocked! But it did it, with plenty of Taiwan Beer to wash it down! Haha!

Drinking and eating are very important parts of Chinese New Year. It brings people together to enjoy food and each others' company, and it is a blessing in the bounty that we share. So, I had plenty of stuff to drink. When I didn't want anymore beer (because I couldn't handle anymore), they brought out the hard Kaoliang liquor! And when I couldn't handle anymore of that, they brought me over to their next door neighbors (relatives) and brought out the whiskey! Man, I was done by the end of the night. But it was a good night, filled with laughter, singing, and lots of new friends.

The next days we went around the town, touring through the markets, temples, and shops, and seeing the different sights. We took tons of pictures and had really funs moments. They tried to get me to try some new soup in the market. It was brown and think with tons of noodles in it. I asked what it was: "Oh, that's a soup with the things in the ground, that birds eat." EARTHWORMS?! Oh my gosh... I didn't want to eat that at all. But, they had already ordered me a bowl before I could say anything. Thank God though, it was just noodles. No worms. PHEW! Haha! Those guys.... :P

We also went up to the mountain and saw the giant statue of Buddha. It is an 80+ foot statue of the Buddha sitting on a giant lotus flower. The statue itself is on the tallest mountain in the area, so it can be seen from all around. Supposedly the area is haunted because the statue is built on a graveyard, and thus the people put Buddha there to comfort the dead and to help those in this world. I think that's pretty reasonable.

To end the week, we ate more and more, drank lots and lots, and visited many more people, singing songs and enjoying each others' company (with mahjong and KTV). Haha. It was a fantastic weekend and a memory I will never ever forget. I regard them as my second family, as they treated me like a son. It is truly astonishing how the Taiwanese are so welcoming and friendly. They welcomed a complete stranger into their house, and right from the start, accepted me into their family and loved me. What a wonderful family!