The 12 Traditional Festivals in Taiwan
The theme is the 12 traditional festivals in the 12 months in Taiwan. Various foods are used to symbolize the meanings of the festivals as well, as well as family gathering and emotional connections with each other. There is a circle extended above the foods, within which are the customs and traditional activities of these festivals.
January / Spring Festival
February / Spring Dragon Festival
The Spring Dragon Festival is also called the Dragon Head Festival. It is a traditional festival in Taiwan on 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month. The rainfall increases during this period of time. So people pray for a plentiful harvest of that year. The custom of this festival is family gathering to eat beans and corns. The activity of this festival is elders shaving children’s heads.
March / Mazu's birthday
The Birthday of Mazu is a traditional festival in Taiwan, on the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month, to celebrate the birth of Mazu. The custom of this festival is the Mazu Pilgrimage with the group members Clairvoyance, Omniscient, and Scout, bringing peace to the society. The activities of this festival include family gathering to eat longevity peaches of Mazu, offering sacrifice to Mazu, going under Mazu’s sedan chair, and praying for safety.
April / Tomb-Sweeping Festival
The Tomb-Sweeping Day is one of the four major traditional festivals in Taiwan, on the 5th day of the 4th lunar month. It is one of the 24 solar terms. Therefore, there is a saying that “a drizzling rain falls like tears on the Tomb-Sweeping Day”. The customs of this festival include family gathering to eat steamed spring rolls, offering sacrifice to ancestors, and visiting ancestors’ graves. The activities of this festival include family outing, flying a kite, and having a ride on a swing.
May / Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the four major traditional festivals in Taiwan, on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. It is in memory of Qu Yuan, a poet from the state of Chu who suicide by jumping into the Miluo River. The Dragon Boat Festival is the time with the strongest Yang energy and the most bugs. That is why people would hang banyan branches and Asian mugwort at home and wear a sachet to drive out evil spirits and repel bugs. The custom of this festival is family gathering to eat glutinous rice dumplings. The activities of this festival include dragon-boat racing and egg balancing at noon.
June / Lotus Viewing Festival
The Lotus Viewing Festival is a traditional festival in Taiwan on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month. It is a celebration for the birthday of lotuses. Those who grow lotuses would place paper-made water lantern in their ponds for celebration. The activity of this festival is family rowing a boat together to view lotuses and drinking and having fun on the boat.
July / Ghost Festival
The Ghost Festival is one of the four major traditional festivals in Taiwan. The gate to the underworld opens during the 7th lunar month. The Ghost Festival is on the 15th day of that month. The custom of this festival is the salvation ceremony held by temples, companies, and households by offering wandering ghosts foods and water to wash their faces. After that, people can celebrate the harvest, expressing gratitude to the land, and eat duck allaying dread. The activities of this festival include grappling with the ghosts, burning the king boat, and releasing water lanterns to drive out evil spirits.
August / Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four major traditional festivals in Taiwan, on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. It was a gift from an ancient emperor to the officials in his feudal court. The tales about this festival include “Jade Rabbit Pounding Elixir” and “Chang'e Flew to the Moon”. The custom of this festival is family gathering to eat pomelos and moon cakes and drink osmanthus wine. The activities of this festival include family admiring the full moon together and appreciating the beauty of osmanthus flowers.
September / Double Ninth Festival
The Double Ninth Festival is one of the four major festivals for ancestral worship. It is on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. The purposes are to drive out evil spirits and epidemic prevention. People would take the elderly in their family to somewhere high in the mountains to avoid disasters. Women would wear a cornel bag to drive out evil spirits. The customs of this festival include family gathering to eat double-ninth cakes and taking the elderly to go for a walk in the countryside and to view blooming chrysanthemums. The activities of this festival include the kite competition, archery, the flower pancake game, and events for the aged.
October / Spirit Festival
The Spirit Festival is also called the Water Lantern Festival. It is a traditional festival in Taiwan, on the 15th day of the 10th lunar month, to celebrate the birthday of Yu, the emperor of the Water Realm and to thank him for removing ill fortune for the people. The customs of this festival include family gathering to eat glutinous rice cakes and worshiping Emperor Yu in the temple with the family to thank him for keeping the family safe for the whole year. The activities of this festival include hanging yellow flags with words such as “Homes of heaven, earth, and water”, “Timely wind and rain”, “The country is prosperous and the people live in safety”, and “Avoiding calamities and receiving blessings from heaven” outside the doors of the temples for emperor Yu and releasing colored boats by the river to drive out evil spirits.
November / Winter festival
The Winter Harvest Festival is also called Peace Festival. It is a traditional festival in Taiwan, on the 23th day of the 11th lunar month. The purpose of this festival is to show appreciation for heaven and thank gods for their blessings of harvests. The custom of this festival is to hold the peace ceremony in each region with offerings to the gods and plays to show gratitude for gods’ blessings. The activities of this festival include family gathering to eat rice dumplings, making red rice cakes, and watching the winter harvest plays.
December / Laba Festival
The Laba Festival is also called the Dharma Treasure Festival. It is a traditional festival in Taiwan, on the 8th day of the 12th lunar month. The purpose is to commemorate the day Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism. The Laba Festival is also one of the major Buddhist festivals. The customs of this festival include repairing the house and offering sacrifices to ancestors. The activity of this festival is family gathering to eat Laba porridge, dumplings, and tofu.
