First of all: Happy New Year Everybody!
And it is not because I have forgotten to say it – it is because it is time to say it again. Cause in Taiwan we have just finished celebrating the Chinese New Year. This New Year takes place some day in January and February and follows the Chinese Lunar Calendar, which is based on the cycles of the moon.
This year it fell on February 3rd, but actually it can be hard for a foreigner to tell, which day it falls on. Not only because we do not know the Lunar Calendar, but also because the New Year’s celebrations take place the entire week around the actual New Years Day.
Because first you have to say goodbye to the old year, and then you have to welcome the new year.
Mostly this celebration contains bringing tons of food for offering to some of the numerous temples in Taiwan, but my family were exceptionally passive when it came to that part. The reason is probably that we went to their (huge) house in Taoyen (countryside about 1 and a half hour from Taipei), which does not have any temples nearby.
Instead we just enjoyed some of the other aspects of the New Year’s celebration. And with other aspects I mostly mean food and money and food and friends and FOOD!
On the actual New Years Eve my family and I (which means: granddad, grandmother, dad, mom, sister, brother, brothers wife and their two children, my housekeeper and I) just had a nice “hot-pot” dinner together. Everything reminded me a bit of Christmas Eve, as the house was decorated with red luck bringing symbols, flowers and golden rabbits (according to the Chinese Calender, we have just entered the year of the rabbit), as we had a nice and special dinner together, and as gifts where given.
The gifts are different from regular Christmas gifts though, as you only give money, only in red (lucky colour) envelopes, only to people younger than you. Which basically means that I received a nice amount of money without giving away any myself, as I am considered too young (and therefore without income) to give away money. Yap – that is much less stressful than the Danish gift marathon (pakkeræs)!
This was actually the only evening during New Years that we ate by ourselves. On the other days our house was packed with friends and family coming from all over the country. Cause it is a fact that most people travel a lot during New Years, to visit both their own family, their spouse’s family and their friends. If following the rules those visits take place on specific days during the New Years celebration, and can easily cause a lot of transportation and a creepily empty Taipei City, as a lot of people have parents living on the countryside.
(Picture taken in our lobby when everything is ready set up for a portion of guests to come over. In the front you se my host-mom hugging my handicapped sister, with back turned to us you se my host-brother, and behind the table in front you se my grandfather - and year, this is just our lobby!)
And I guess my family helped emptying Taipei, as we didn’t go anywhere but just had a lot of people coming to our house instead. On the most intense day it was the brothers and sister of my now dead great-grandfather and his descendants who came over (which would be my granddad’s uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers plus kids). And as you probably can tell, this meant more than fifty people coming over for lunch and dinner.
In the breaks in between eating the elderly people went to our 4th floor to play a Chinese game including a lot of money changing hands. And as the night came more and more gambling took place. I decided to participate as well (because it did seem to be an important culture-lesson right?), but did not have much luck. Some of the games can easily continue the entire night, which they do in many cases.
But as I did not win a lot I decided to stop, and instead I just stuck to wishing people a happy New Year with lot of money, food and love.
And so, I will whish you “HAPPY NEW (rabbit’s) YEAR” as well!
Take care!
Julia :)
