Recommend December 2010 - (Page 43)

There is no time like festival time to be in Taiwan. Rich in costume, action and symbolism, Taiwanese festivals have their origins in Taoism, Buddhism and folkloric religions. And it is most often the lunar calendar that guides these colorful celebrations, so the dates vary from year to year. Consider some of the following celebrations: ■ Lantern Festival (February/March): This is one of Taiwan’s most colorful and popular festivals, celebrated countrywide to mark the end of Chinese New Year. Temples, homes, shops and restaurants are aglow with decorative lanterns in the shape of birds and historical characters, while children parade their lanterns in the streets. In Taipei, enormous lanterns are displayed at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and high-tech laser shows and fireworks fill the sky. Particularly famous is Pingxi Township with its nighttime release of thousands of illuminated sky lanterns. ■ Birthday of Mazu (April/May): The goddess of the sea is one of Taiwan’s favorites. On her birthday, noisy celebrations erupt at the more than 400 temples devoted to Mazu. Expect fireworks, dragon dances, and images paraded on sedan chairs. A weeklong Mazu Pilgrimage starts in Dajia, whose goddess leaves the Chenlan Temple, accompanied by drums, gongs and dancing folk gods, to form a procession that will travel to some 50 towns. ■ Dragon Boat Festival (June): This nationwide festival draws cheering crowds to watch ornately carved boats, decorated like dragons and manned by rowers, plow through waterways in a series of competitive races. The celebration honors the life of poet Qu Yuan who drowned himself in the Mi Lo River in the third century B.C. to protest the then corrupt government. Top race places: Keelung and Sansia in Taipei County, and Kaoshiung on the southwest coast. ■ Ghost Month (August): The time of the year when the gates of the netherworld are opened and restless spirits wander the earth. Devotees appease the ghosts through rituals such as offering food and burning wads of “hell money.” Visit a Taoist temple to see the appeasement rituals. One of the most famous ghost festivals takes place for the whole month in the port city of Keelung, where the highlights include folk art performances, opening of the Gates of Hell and the release of burning water lanterns. ■ Taiwan Culinary Fair (August): New to the festival scene is the annual focus on the deliciously distinctive cuisine of Taiwan, a journey through pavilions and food courts introducing visitors to a gastronomic heritage that embraces Hakka specialties, Malayo-Polynesian flavors, tea-based dishes, appetizers, snacks and wine made from tangy plums. Events include the domestic culinary competition and celebrity chef cooking classes. ■ Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (September/October): This traditional Chinese holiday is celebrated at the end of the harvest, when the harvest moon is at its biggest and brightest. People in earlier days made offerings to thank the gods for the year’s bounty. Today that bounty is recognized by eating disc-shaped moon cakes, symbolizing family unity and togetherness. ABORIGINAL FESTIVALS ■ Bunun Festival (between end of April/beginning of May) celebrates the traditions of farming and hunting in the Bunun Foundation Village, a self-sufficient community in the East Rift Valley. ■ Dahwu Flying Fish Festival (March/April) is a traditional coming-of-age ceremony for the boys of the Dahwu (also called Yami) people who live on Orchid Island 40 miles off Taiwan’s southeastern coast. Held at the beginning of the flying fish season, men don loin cloths and silver helmets during the blessing of their colorful canoes, and pray for a bountiful catch. ■ Festival of Austronesian Cultures (August), focusing on the mythologies, worship and ritual practices in Austronesian civilization (Taiwanese aborigines), is held annually in Taitun. This event offers a great opportunity to see traditional aboriginal handicrafts, musical instruments and wood carvings, as well as to sample a smorgasbord of local foods. ■ Ami Harvest Festival (July and August) is the occasion when Taiwan’s largest indigenous group welcomes, feeds and says farewell to the spirits in thanks for a bountiful harvest. Festivities— boisterous events with plenty of singing and dancing—take place in towns around Hualien and Taitung counties. TOURISM BUREAU, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS, REPUBLIC OF CHINA T11

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend December 2010

Editor's Notes
Hotel Desk-Marriott International
Tour Talk-Globus
Services-SABRE; Apple Vacations & Travel Impressions
Ritz-Carlton
Hertz & Hawaii
Las Vegas
Tauck World Discovery
Florida
Southwest Airlines
France
Ireland
Italy
Delta Air Lines & Rail Europe
China
Thailand
Singapore Airlines
2011 Taiwan Travel Planner
Tahiti & Goway Travel
Costa Rica
Brazil & Avanti Destinations
Egypt
South Africa
Abercrombie & Kent & Isram World of Travel
Israel
Jamaica
Sandals & Beaches Resorts
St. Lucia
GOGO Worldwide Vacations
Cancun
RIU Hotels & Resorts & Apple Vacations
Riviera Maya
Celebrity Cruises & Royal Caribbean International
Princess Cruises
Carnival Cruise Lines & Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Crystal Cruises & Viking River Cruises

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