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Traditional Festivals
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Celebrating the Traditional Way in Modern Times
The major holiday activities in Taiwan can be divided into folk celebrations and aboriginal rituals. Taiwan has three major Chinese holidays, namely the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival; many others, including the burning of the plague god boat at Donggang, the Dajia pilgrimage with the goddess Mazu, are local festivals. Although each celebration has a unique history, most are held to solicit peace and good fortune, and to petition the gods to protect the public from disease, natural disasters, and the like. Aside from the worship of gods and ancestors, most of the activities include the carrying of divine palanquins, stilt-walking, martial-arts performances, drum and flower dances, lion and dragon dances, and other temple activities, adding color and drama to these traditional festivities.
Aside from these celebrations, the various aboriginal tribes of Taiwan, also hold celebrations to pray for a bountiful harvest and abundant catch. Some primary examples include the harvest festivals, ancestral festivities, and hunting ceremonies, all of which exhibit great reverence for the spirits. There are 13 aboriginal tribes in Taiwan, and the differences in their customs and traditions heighten the mystery they hold for us. |
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First day to fifteenth day of the first lunar month
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The Spring Festival, of Chinese New Year, is celebrated from the first day to the fifth day of the first lunar month. People refer to this festival as "passing the year," which means shooing out the old and welcoming in the new; it is considered the most important Chinese holiday of the year. There are a number of related customs and traditions that go along with the festival. Normally, on the 23rd or 24th day of the last month, people sacrifice to the Hearth God and send him off on his annual journey to Heaven; this signals the start of the Chinese New Year holidays.
On Chinese New Year's Eve, families complete their spring cleaning signifying the sweeping away of misfortunes of the previous year. After the spring cleaning, a New Year's cake is made (the cake is a symbol of "reaching new heights"). The 29th day of the final lunar month is when families stick up spring couplets and New Year prints on their doors and windows to bring good luck. On the 30th day of the last month, families gather together for a New Year's meal, called the "Gathering Around the Stove." Adults then give the younger members of the family, particularly children, red envelopes with cash inside. This monetary gift is thought to bring peace and good fortune to the recipient. Then there is the "Keeping of the Year," which is seeing the old year out and the New Year in by staying up on New Year's Eve. This starts after the family has finished eating the New Year's Eve dinner. Once the clock strikes midnight, firecrackers are exploded to welcome the arrival of the New Year.
Chinese New Year also includes the practice of going around to friends and relatives to offer New Year greetings on the 1st day of the year, going to the home of the wife's family on the 2nd, welcoming the God of Wealth on the 4th, and reopening business on the 5th.
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Fifteenth day of the first lunar month
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The Lantern festival is also known as the "little-New Year." Aside from the usual worship of the gods, the occasion involves guessing lantern riddles, eating rice-flour dumplings, and releasing lanterns into the sky in Pingsi Township. The Yanshuei Beehive Rocket Festival in Tainan County is another major event during the Lantern Festival.
Lantern Festivities
Colorful and lanterns of all sizes and shapes have always been main attractions of the Lantern Festival ,which is celebrated with a grand national festival and major festival in Taipei and Kaohsiung.
The Taipei Lantern Festival is held for several days at the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall(Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall) , reaching its peak on the day of the Lantern Festival itself. There is a gigantic lantern depicting this year's Chinese zodiac animal, which is the centerpiece of the festival. There are also many traditional lanterns, electromechanical lantern displays, and large themed lantern floats designed by different companies.
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Third lunar month
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Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea, migrated to Taiwan with the people of Fujian Province in the 17th century to become one of the most revered deities on the island, where today about 870 temples are dedicated to her worship. Mazu's birthday falls in the third lunar month; during this time, temples around the island, including Taichung County Dajia Jhenlan Temple, Changhua County Lugang Tianhou Temple, Yunlin County's Chaotian Temple, Tainan City's Grand Tianhou Temple, and Chiayi County's Fongtian Temple, hold ceremonies, with incense burning, tours by the deities around their domains and other festivities. Among these temples, Jhenlan Temple in Dajia, Taichung County has the largest celebration and also the oldest.
The pilgrimage from Dajia's Jhenlan Temple takes place during the third lunar month. All sorts of festive activities are arranged at this time, including puppets and theater performances, displays of embroidered banners, float parades, dragon and lion dances, and other events as the procession passes through Changhua and Yunlin counties, and proceeds to Fongtian Temple in Singang, Chiayi County. Many devotees walk the whole trip, which lasts eight days and seven nights.
The Mazu image which the pilgrims carry along with them is warmly welcomed at Fongtian Temple. The devotees prepare meat, fruits, and vegetables as offerings; firecrackers are discharged and incense is burned. Another high point of the activities occurs when Mazu returns home to Dajia in her palanquin; along the route, one can see hundreds of thousands of devotees holding parties for friends, relatives, and the returning pilgrims.
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Fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month
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Together with Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival is one of Taiwan's three major annual holidays. Because of its origins and customs, it is closely related to the remembrance of Cyuyuan, a poet who lived during the Warring States Period; that is why, from ancient times, people have also referred to the Dragon Boat Festival as the" Poet's Festival."
At the time of the Dragon Boat Festival, the most common customs are holding dragon boat races and eating glutinous rice dumplings called zongzih. Legend has it that when the poet Cyuyuan jumped to his death into the Miluo River, the local people rowed their boats to and fro in search of him; later, this slowly evolved into the dragon boat races. Today, dragon boat races are a popular activity famous both in Taiwan and abroad; most local areas of the island hold their own races. Each year, there is an international dragon boat race with teams from Taiwan and abroad competing.
The practice of making zongzih came from the people who were to save Cyuyuan from the fate of being eaten by the fish. The people stuffed rice into bamboo sections and threw them into the river to feed the fish; today, the dumplings are wrapped in leaves and eaten by people.
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Fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month
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The seventh month on the lunar calendar is the Chinese Ghost Month. Traditionally, it starts from dawn on the first day, when the gates of the netherworld open, and A ends on the 29th day of the month, when the gates close. People holt rituals to petition for salvation from disasters and misfortune during the celebration, which reaches a peak on the 15th day.
Jhongyuan General Salvation Ceremonies
In folk tradition, on the day of Jhongyuan Festival every household has to prepare meat, fruits, fresh flowers, and other sacrificial items; they then offer these to the hungry ghosts at a temple, or on a temporary altar table set up in front of their homes. They also ask monks to say prayers for their deceased loved ones as well as those lost souls who have no living descendants left on earth. This is known as Jhongyuan Pudu, or General Salvation. The ceremonies take place in temple and on streets. On the afternoon of the Pudu, local residents prepare offerings and carry them to the main altar at a temple to join in the ceremonies there. For the street festivities, local residents prepare chicken, duck, and fish for offerings in front of their homes in a ceremony known as doorway worship.
Launching of the Water Lanterns
The launching of water lanterns is a longstanding custom. Its most important purpose is to help light the way for the lost souls in the water, call the souls to come on land to enjoy the offerings, and pray for the early reincarnation of these souls. It is also said that the farther a lanterns floats, the better the fortune that the clan it represents will enjoy in the coming year.
Grappling with the Ghosts
Grappling with the Ghosts is a pole-climbing competitions held during the Ghost Month. In Taiwan today, it is carried out only in Toucheng, Yilan County and Hengchun, Pingtung County. Of these two locales, Toucheng, has the bigger celebration.
In the early days, people migrating to Yilan from Guangdong and Fujian provinces were beset by natural disasters, accidents, and disease, and many of them died. Because they became afraid that nobody was going to be left to make offerings after they were gone, and that their souls would have nowhere to go, every year during this festival they held pole-climbing ceremonies to remember those who had passed away. Since Toucheng was the first city in the Yilan area to be developed, residents of its eight major districts jointly hold the general salvation ceremony. They also chose the last day of the month-the day when the gates of the netherworld close-to hold a major pole-climbing competition.
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Mid-Autumn Festival
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Fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month
The Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Moon Festival, and it is a holiday with a most romantic atmosphere. Because this holiday occurs during the autumn, at a time when harvest season is over, people in earlier days chose this day to make offerings and thank the gods for the bounty of the year. This became a time for families to get together. The most familiar myth concerning this festival is that of Chang-er 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 "Wu chopping down the cinnamon tree."
Because most of the activities held during this holiday are related to the moon, it has come to be known as moon day. Important activities at this time include the eating of moon cakes, which symbolize unity and togetherness; strolling under the full moon; and eating pomelos, since the Chinese term for pomelo sounds like "care and protection." As for the barbecues that are held on this holiday, the custom is a recent one in which families and friends get together and enjoy a meal.
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Ninth lunar month
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The burning of the Plague God Boat is one of the folk rituals of the seafaring people in southwestern Taiwan. The original purpose of this ritual was to send the Plague God of out to the sea, and diseases along with him; today it is an activity held to pray for peace and good fortune. The festival is held once every three years, around the ninth lunar month, at Donglong Temple in Donggang. The boats are burned in the middle of the fourth month at Cingan Temple in Sigang, Tainan County. Generally, the Donggang event is bigger. These celebrations include large-scale temple activities, which climax with the burning of the plague god boat on the last day.
The Donggang boat-burning celebrations run for eight days and seven nights. According to custom, before the boat is set afire devotees and other participants prepare goods for the symbolic trip. Then a big fire is made (this is to force any bad spirits and the Plague God to go aboard), and the boat is burned while the people pray for peace.
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Aborigineal ceremonies
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Taiwan's aborigines come mainly from 13 tribes: the Amis, the Atayal, the Paiwan, the Bunun, the Puyuma, the Rukai, the Zou, the Saisiyat, the Yami,(Tawu) the Sao, the Kavalan, the Truku and the Sakizaya. They worship the spirits of the earth through ceremonies, rites, music and dance, and other activities. Moreover, the customs and traditions are different for every tribe, presenting a colorful array of ritual activities, such as the Harvest Festival of the Amis, the Sacrifice to the Short Spirits of the Saisiats, the Bunun Ear-shooting Ceremony, Puyuma Monkey Ceremony, Yami Flying Fish Festival, and others. Each of these offers a unique experience.
- Amis Harvest Festival
July and August
The Harvest Festival is the largest a festival of the Amis tribe. Held annually during the months of July and August, the festival has three stages, including welcoming the spirits, feasting the spirits, and sending the spirits off. In modern times, the ceremony has been shortened and the religious ceremonies simplified. Several activities have been added, including a race, tug-of-war and arrow shooting competition. The festivities, once limited to tribal participation, are now open to the general public.
- Bunun Ear-shooting Festival
April and May
The Ear-shooting Festival is the most important celebration of the Bunun people. Held from the end of April to the beginning of May, the celebration is divided into sowing rites, hunting rites, and ear-shooting; pig roasting, apportioning the meat, and storing the meat; work celebrations, witch inductions, and other major activities.
The traditional ear-shooting ceremony starts well before the celebration itself when the young men of the tribe go into the mountains and hunt. Then they cut off the ears of the their kills, stick the ears on a pole or a tree branch for the village men to shoot with arrows. Small children, accompanied by their fathers and older brothers, also practice shooting arrows, hoping that this will enable them to become good hunters.
- Saisiat Sacrifice to the Short Spirits
Tenth lunar month
The Sacrifice to the Short Spirits is the most important traditional rite of the Saisiat Tribe, with a smaller ceremony every two years and a large ceremony every 10 years. The festival is held around the 15th day of the 10th lunar month, at the end of the harvest season, and lasts for four days and three nights.
The first day of the festival starts with welcoming of the spirits, when tribal elders offer wine and meat and then, facing to the east, pray to welcome the Short Spirits. The second day is for entertaining the spirits, which is the centerpiece of the entire festival. The tribes engage in festivities and dancing to commemorate the Short Spirits. On the last day, rites for sending the spirits off are performed. At the appropriate time, the tribes throw sheaves of grass and hazel wood sticks toward the east, signifying that the Short Spirits have already departed. After that, the rice wine, pork, and rice cakes that were offered are given to the participants, bringing the festival to an end.
- Tsou Mayasvi Ceremony
February 15
The Mayasvi is the holiest of all the ceremonies of the Tsou tribe. In the early years, it was held before a battle or hunt. Today, it is held annually on February 15 and is alternately organized by the communities of Dabang and Tefuye in Chiayi County. The ceremony is held at the tribal gathering place for men (Kupah).
The tribe's war ceremony includes the rites of triumph, head rites, rites for the heads of the enemies, and welcoming rites for the gods.
- Puyuma Annual Ritual
After December The "Monkey Ceremony" and the "Hunting Ceremony" are together referred to as the annual ritual of the Puyuma tribe.
The Puyuma were traditionally the most warlike of Taiwan's aboriginal peoples. Every year toward the end of December, the tribe holds a Monkey Ceremony. Considered the most unique of the Puyuma rites, the Monkey Ceremony is a rite of passage that marks the entry of tribal boys into manhood. Many call it the Monkey Piercing Ceremony as young men of the tribe go through a series of strict trials, the most important of which is the piercing of a monkey with a bamboo staff. This is thought to build courage and cooperation among the young people. Participants have to complete four levels of trials, after which they are allowed to take part in the hunting ceremony. This requires a young boy to be able to hunt down a wild animal within five days. After this, the young boy is considered a man eligible for marriage.
- Yami Flying Fish Festival
January to June
The existence of the Yami tribe is closely intertwined with the Flying Fish Festival. Each year the flying fishes come with the Kuroshio Current from January to June, and this brings a rich harvest of fish for the Yami tribe living on Orchid Island. That is why the tribes people believe that these fish are gifts from the gods, and why they treasure this natural resource. Some of the tribe's social norms and taboos are also closely associated with the coming and going of the flying fish.
The Flying Fish Festival is a fishing ceremony held sometime beginning in the second or third month of the lunar calendar, and it runs for approximately four months. The festival is divided into different parts including the blessing of the boats, praying for a bountiful catch, summoning the fish, first fishing night ceremony, fish storing ceremony, and fishing cessation ceremony. The men of the tribe wear loincloths, silver helmets, and gold strips, and face the sea to pray for a bountiful catch. Participation is restricted to men.
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