It may not be surprising for international students that Taiwanese schools have long winter breaks with Lunar New Year holiday. In fact, Taiwan shares the Sinosphere (as known as East Asian cultural sphere) and celebrates Lunar New Year as it is the most important holiday of a year.
This year, since the pandemic is still in complicated situation, a lot of international students must stay here and do not have the chance to reunite with their family in this special occasion. However, this also means you can experience how people celebrate this special occasion in Taiwan.
Lunar New Year for Foreigners
Lunar New Year is also commonly known as Spring Festival across East and South-east Asia and for Asian people in other parts of the world. For many Taiwanese, this festival is an opportunity to take a week off work to reunite with their families, relatives and friends in their hometown.
For foreigners who are staying in Taiwan during this period, they are fortunate to experience the unique festive ambience diffusing in the air in every corner of the country. In Taipei Metropolitan area, streets, shop-lets and shopping malls or complexes are decorated with red lanterns, and beautiful lighting to enrich the atmosphere.
In Asian culture, there are twelve zodiac animals. Since this year is the year of Tiger, tiger’s designs and drawings have been blended into the decorations. Specially, a project with exhibitions and figure display of the lovely ‘Fat Tiger’ is located in three big cities, including Taipei, Taichung and Tainan.
New Year Dishes
If you are looking for some tasty traditional New Year pastries and dishes, this is the right time for you to hop on a food tour in the streets to try out a variety of budget-friendly restaurants or food courts.
Plus, this is the big sales season in many shopping centers and several activities are held to give out Chinese New Year Hamper gifts and baskets. At certain places in big cities like Taipei or Kaoshiung, there are countdown events on the New Year’s Eve and embracing the first day of the New Year.
Therefore, you can get to appreciate fireworks astonishingly blasting into the night sky accompanied with joyful cheerings.
New Year Blessings
In addition, it is recommended to visit at least one big temple to witness the rowdy environment during the first few days of the celebration in Taiwan. The locals swarm to the temples to seek for New Year blessings from the mythical deities and to pray for all the best for the New Year.
Visitors are also able to engage with the local customs and traditions in multifold ways, such as joining parade of deities, learning to make some authentic New Year dishes through workshops, learning the praying process in a Taoist temple and so forth.
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