Celebrating the Lunar New Year in Taiwan
The Lunar New Year (農曆新年) is undoubtedly one of the most important traditional holidays in Taiwan, and it can best be described as a hybrid between Christmas and New Years in terms of significance and spirit as it melds together traditions, family gatherings, gifts and a focus on bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new. And while the focus here is how the holiday is celebrated in Taiwan, it must be noted that the Lunar New Year is observed by numerous Asian countries from China to South Korea to Singapore to Vietnam and more.
Officially the Lunar New Year holiday lasts 15 days, starting with the new moon of the first month of the new lunar year and ending with the first full moon of the first month. Being based on the lunar calendar, the exact dates of the holiday vary each year but it usually falls some time between the second half of January and the second half of February. It is also called the Spring Festival (春節) as it originally represented the coming of springing and was used as a time marker to assist farmers in better preparing their crops. These days there are less crops to prepare for but employees and businesses usually have a week off whereas schools are usually closed for 2 weeks or so.
Origins of the Lunar New Year celebrations
Legend has it that thousands of years ago in China there was a ferocious beast with the body of a bull and head of a lion called “Nian” (年獸). Each year on the eve before the new lunar year, this beast would come into the village, wreak havoc on homes, feed on livestock and even people. The villagers would be forced to leave town every year to avoid the beast but eventually a wise old man figured out that the beast was afraid of the color red, loud noises and flares of light. That year the old man stayed and placed red cloth on the doors and lit bamboo stalks to create loud explosions. He succeeded in fending off the beast so from then on the villagers adopted the same methods and all these practices evolved into the red spring couplet scrolls and firecrackers that we see for the Lunar New Year today.
Traditions of the Lunar New Year
In Taiwan, shopping and preparations for the lunar new year festivities start weeks in advance. Similar to Christmas markets in the US and Europe, dense and bustling new years markets spring up in most of the major cities to sell specialty food items and decorations for the holidays. One of the most famous is on Dihua Street in Taipei. It is located in an area that was originally the main trading port since the time of the Dutch occupation in the 1600s. The photos provided in this travelogue are quite evocative of the festive mood the Dihua Street new years market.
Spring Cleaning
After all the preparatory shopping is completed, the day before the lunar new year is the time for a thorough spring cleaning. Not only is it generally good to clean and declutter homes, the main reason for removing old, unwanted items is to make room for new luck to arrive in the coming year. Similarly, sweeping dirt out of the house has the twofold purpose of casting out bad luck and negative energy from the past year to welcome good luck and positive energy. However, all cleaning must stop during the first days of the new year for fear of accidentally sweeping out all the fresh new luck that was just welcomed in.
Red couplet scrolls and wall hangings
Red couplet scrolls (春聯) painted with auspicious wise messages or poems are hung at the entrance to homes and businesses during the lunar new year with the belief that they will bring good luck and wealth to those who write the scrolls and those who live or work where they are hung. Old scrolls from the prior year should be removed and replaced with freshly painted scrolls in time for the festivities. Along with the scrolls are red diamond-shaped paper squares with beautiful calligraphic Chinese symbols and characters painted on them. The most popular words written are good fortune (福) or spring (春); they are usually hung upside down, because the word for “upside down” (倒) is a homonym for the word “to arrive” (到) so it symbolizes that good fortune is arriving.
Common New Year sayings
The period of the Lunar New Year celebrations is a time to be joyful so people are expected to make an effort at avoiding confrontation, negative thoughts and words. Everyone stays positive so that happiness and good luck will follow you for the whole year and some of the most popular greetings during that period are:
新年快樂 (Xin Nian Kuai Le) = Happy New Year!
恭喜發財 (Gong Xi Fa Cai) = Congratulations, may you have wealth!
Red envelopes (紅包)
One of the most anticipated parts of the lunar new year are the festive red envelopes filled with crisp banknotes. They are usually filled with even amounts starting with 6s and 8s being the most auspicious, ie. 600, 800, 888, etc. Although the number 4 is even, it is considered unlucky as it is almost homophonic with the word for death in Mandarin. Children are the main beneficiaries of red envelopes as well as elders and unmarried adults. As with all things in life, those of the sandwich generation usually get nothing!
Firecrackers
Firecrackers were traditionally set off to scare away the Nian beast as mentioned in the origins of the holiday. However, these days firecrackers are also set off to ward off all manner of evil spirits and to welcome the new year with a festive mood. They can be seen and heard all throughout the holiday period but many families like to set them off after midnight, following the big new years eve dinner.
New clothes, red clothes
The Lunar New Year is all about new beginnings and it is seen as an opportunity to refresh and set a positive tone for the coming year. Many people like to start by wearing new clothes on the first few days of the lunar new year along with at least one red article with red underwear being quite popular. For maximum fortune, go all out and try to wear a new, red outfit!
Temple visits
During the Lunar New Year, plenty of worshippers fill the various temples of Taiwan to light incense to pray for health, safety and good fortune for the coming year. Some temples will shut their doors just prior to midnight on New Year’s Eve while throngs of worshippers eagerly gather outside. Once the bell strikes midnight, the temple gates will open and the worshippers will rush in to be the first person to insert incense in the incense burner for good luck.
Programming for the Lunar New Year holidays
With the Lunar New Year spanning 15 days, most days have a designated program and purpose. While there are still many stalwarts of tradition, Taiwan is no exception when it comes to evolving habits and practices and many in the younger generation have abbreviated celebrations to take advantage of the remaining extended time off for travel abroad. For those who adhere to customs, here is a general program for the holiday period:
New Years Eve
Many people travel to their parents’ or grandparents’ homes to gather for a big holiday dinner with some of the symbolic foods listed in the section below. The lucky red envelopes are given following dinner and families continue to spend time together chatting, eating snacks or playing Mah Jong. This is one night when children are encouraged to stay up late because tradition has it that the later the children stay up the more longevity the elders will enjoy. Some families will light firecrackers at midnight to ring in the new year.
New Years Day
Waking up to a new year, it is traditionally a time to make offerings to ancestors and to pray to the gods. Young people are supposed to go pay visits to their elders with “New Years” greetings. Some people will don new clothes to go out to visit relatives and friends to wish each other good fortune for the coming year. It is also the time when you can stumble upon lion and dragon dances.
Day 2 of the lunar new year
This is the traditional day for married daughters to return to visit her maiden family.
Day 3 of the lunar new year
Continued eating, relaxing and visits of friends.
Day 4 of the lunar new year
Festivities start to wind down. For more traditional families, the 4th day is also the day when the Kitchen God and his cohort returns from the heavens so offerings need to be prepared to welcome them.
Day 5 of the lunar new year
Life starts to return to normal with offices and businesses reopening.
Day 9 of the lunar new year
The ninth day of the Lunar New Year is the Jade Emperor’s birthday and a time for believers to prepare offerings either in their home patios or their temple courtyards to celebrate.
Day 15 of the lunar new year
The last day of the Lunar New Year is the Lantern Festival (元宵節), which originated in the belief that celestial spirits could be seen flying about during the first full moon of the new lunar year so lanterns were lit to aid in the search. Nowadays, the lantern festival is a jubilant event with impressive light displays and lantern competitions. Each year a different city in Taiwan hosts the official lantern festival display and they have become increasingly elaborate affairs. The photos below are from the Lantern Festival in Taichung.
Lunar New Year Taboos
For farmers, what is sown during the first half of the year often dictates whether the second half is dominated by feast or famine. Since many lunar new year traditions in Taiwan were developed when it was still a predominantly agricultural society, many of the taboos are a legacy of a preoccupation with either avoiding detrimental deeds or performing auspicious acts during the lunar new year in the hopes of a bountiful harvest of health and prosperity later on. Here is a selection of taboos, some more obscure than others (and more amusing) and in no particular order:
No sweeping the floors or disposing of garbage before the fifth day of the Lunar New Year or else you risk “discarding” all the wealth and blessings of the family.
If you accidentally break dishes or glasses, you must quickly say “歲歲平安” to dispel any forthcoming disaster.
You need to avoid using inauspicious words or discussing topics related to death or disease.
No use of sharp objects like knives or scissors during the Lunar New Year period to avoid injuries to yourself or your family members in the coming year.
You shouldn’t cook a new meal on New Years day but eat the leftovers from your New Years Eve dinner to symbolize abundance that carries over as a surplus in the coming year.
No crying because that casts a negative pall and brings bad luck for the rest of the year.
Avoid using white items or wearing white as it is the color associated with death.
You can’t eat porridge or else you will encounter heavy wind, rain or even death during your travels in the coming year!
Don’t wake someone up by calling their full name on the morning of New Year’s day or else they will be doomed to being bossed around the entire year.
Do not say lunar new year greetings to someone who is still asleep otherwise they will end up in the sick bed for much of the coming year.
Avoid pan frying foods to the point that they get crispy as the adjective for that brownish-golden color is a homonym for the word for poverty in Taiwanese Hokkien.
Lunar New Year Foods
Each family will have their roster of favorite dishes and foods to celebrate the Lunar New Year but there are a handful of staples that will usually find a place on the holiday table for their symbolic significance. Most of them are plays on meanings and homonymous with auspicious words while others are simply delicacies that are usually reserved for special occasions, much like foie gras is served for New Years Eve in France.
Whole Fish
One of the most symbolic foods of the Lunar New Year is fish. The Mandarin word for fish is a homophone for the word for “surplus” so eating fish corresponds to the saying 年年有餘 (nian nian you yu), which means to have surplus or abundance every year. So for maximal effect you would have a whole fish and leave a bit of the head and tail so you have a little surplus from the beginning to the end of the year.
Rice Cake (年糕 “nian gao”)
The name of rice cake in Mandarin is literally “year cake” but the word for “cake” is a homophone for the word “high” so eating it has the symbolism of raising yourself higher each year or improving your circumstances from year to year. It can refer to a promotion in career or rank or in wealth or it can even refer to a child continuing to grow.
Dumplings
Dumplings are often served because they resemble the shape of a traditional Chinese gold ingot (元寶), so when you eat the “ingots” you are bringing wealth and prosperity for the new year. Some families might place a nut or other edible item in one of the dumplings so whoever happens upon the special dumpling will have an extra lucky year. It’s similar in concept to finding the fève in a galette des rois or the baby in a king cake.
Kumquats (金橘 “jin ju”)
Kumquats are popular during the lunar new year because its name is literally “Golden Orange” so the “golden” part of the name already brings wealth and the word for orange sounds similar to the word for luck (吉 “ji”) that corresponds to the phrase 大吉大利 (da ji da li) or “may you have good luck this year.”
White Radish or Daikon (白蘿蔔)
In Taiwanese Hokkien the word for white radish is 菜頭 (“cai tao”), which is a homophone for good fortune 好彩頭 (“ho cai tao”). The radish can be eaten in any form but one of the most popular ways is in the famous savory radish cake (蘿蔔糕) that is steamed, then sliced and crisped in a pan until the outside is golden and the inside is custardy.
Pineapple (鳳梨 “feng li”)
Not only are Taiwanese pineapples extremely sweet and delicious but its name in Taiwanese Hokkien is pronounced like the words for “prosperity is coming” so eating pineapples during the new year is associated with bringing good fortune and wealth. In addition to eating them, pineapple shaped items are also popular for the same symbolic associations.
Pig Knuckle Noodle (豬腳麵線 "Zhu Jiao Mian Xian”)
This dish is is commonly eaten on the first day of the Lunar New Year as pigs have often symbolized wealth and the long noodle strands represent your life and longevity. Pig Knuckle Noodle is also a popular dish eaten during birthdays with the caveat that you need to try to not break the noodle strands or else it it like you are cutting your life shorter.
Mullet Roe (烏魚子)
Cured mullet roe is brushed with Kaoliang, a strong liquor distilled from fermented sorghum, and then it is grilled, sliced and served with garlic and white radish or pear slices. It is also offered as a prized gift during the holidays. Mullet roe is a popular food for the Lunar New Year less for its symbolic associations but more due to its place as a traditional seasonal delicacy. Although they are now available year round, locally produced cured mullet roe is traditionally available only from December-January when mullet migrate south through the Taiwan Strait, immediately prior to and following the winter solstice, to lay their eggs.
Mustard Greens (芥菜)
Braised mustard greens is another auspicious staple because it is symbolic for longevity. The vegetable is also known as 長年菜 or “long years vegetable” and associated with the phrase “長長久久” which refers to living a long life. The dish is often prepared with dried scallops during the Lunar New Year to make it extra festive and decadent.
Fa Gao (發糕)
Fa Gao is a steamed spongy cake that uses a leavening agent to make it “rise” into a fluffy cake. Similar to rice cake, Fa Gao is a play on words as the word for “rise” is a homophone for the word for “prosperity” and the word for “cake" is a homophone for the word “higher.” It is believed that eating Fa Gao will bring career promotions and increased wealth and fortune in the coming year.
There are still myriad foods and snacks that are popular during the Lunar New Year not on this list but the above is a sampling of how linguistic symbolism comes into play with the foods eaten during the holidays, with some of them specific to Taiwanese Hokkien (otherwise called Taigi).
Sources:
Direct knowledge from growing up Taiwanese!
http://eportfolio.lib.ksu.edu.tw/~4980M026/repository/fetch/跨文化期末報告.doc
https://www.sites.google.com/site/flora0700130/home/xin-nian-you-lai
https://icarry.me/blog/2018/02/舌尖上的台灣地一味-烏魚子為什麼過年要吃烏魚子/
