228 and Lantern Festival

Oh, the puns I could use to describe this week...I would say I had some truly illuminating moments, there were definitely some bright spots in my week, some moments where I felt enlightened by the culture of Taiwan, and felt that I was beginning to shine.  Ok, alright, I'm done with the bad puns, they only existed to set the scene for lantern festival which began this week.  Lantern Festival occurs on the 15th day of the lunar new year, and marks the end of Chinese New Year (which is a 2-week long holiday).  I think the typical mental image painted when someone says 'Lantern Festival' is of thousands of sky lanterns being released, and while this is a part of the holiday, it is not the main spectacle.  In Taiwan the main release of sky lanterns occurs in the Pingxi district of Taipei on the 24th of February, and, since I had not realized this detail sooner, I missed it!  However, instead of releasing lanterns, many cities throughout the country host a lantern art festival, and this year the main event was hosted in Hsinchu (just under a 1.5 train ride north of Changhua), and I did make it out to see that.  Hundreds, probably thousands of large lanterns have been created to display various animals, people, places, etc..  The most common themes in the lanterns were zodiac signs (particularly snakes to represent the new year), Taiwanese/Chinese culture (including calligraphy, religion, and pop culture), and animals.

The 'centerpiece' of the lantern festival this year is a multicolored, rotating snake to represent the new year.

As well as visiting the Lantern Festival in Hsinchu, most of our daytime hours were spent sightseeing, particularly at the glass art (aka gl'art).  The museum showed the history of glass-making, and displayed glass designs (like dinnerware, vases, and sculptures) from around the world.

Being sill at the old gate of Hsinchu.

Among the other Taiwanese festivals which occur around this time of year is the Yanshui Fireworks Festival in Tainan.  If you aren't in the mood to release sky lanterns, or view art lanterns, you have the option of heading south to Tainan to get stung by fireworks in the hive of bees.  The hive of bees is considered to be one of the most dangerous festivals in the world, and consists of shooting bottle rockets into crowds of people who are not only willing to get hit by the fireworks, but are often trying to get hit because it is considered to bring good luck during the new year.  Before you judge me for partaking in such a reckless activity, you should know I didn't make it to this festival either, but I really wish I had, so hopefully you will have some awesome reactions for me next year!

I really enjoy working, but I have to say that having short weeks of teaching is the best! This week was one of those short weeks because February 28th in Taiwan is a national day-off in memory of the 228 Incident.  The 228 Incident began as an uprising against the government which was countered by killing thousands of Taiwanese citizens, and eventually led to the Taiwan independence movement.  While my day didn't involve much commemoration of Taiwan's history, it did involve friends and monkeys.  I went on a mini scooter-adventure to monkey mountain in Ershui which is about a hour away from Changhua.  It is always nice to get out of the cities in Taiwan, I loved the fresh air and all the monkeys (though I still really don't love climbing the staircases to get up the mountain).

A couple of monkeys.

Wish me luck for the next couple of weeks! I have a busy week of covering hours for my co-teachers, being observed by head-office, and my 7-month appraisal!