This small island 100 miles off the coast
of China was called "Formosa" by the Portuguese, which means beautiful.
Today it is officially known as the Republic of China. Though people
migrated from China's mainland beginning in the 15th century, Taiwan
has long been claimed by many countries during its history. Beginning
with Dutch invaders in the 1600's, they were followed by Spanish invaders,
then the Dutch again, then Chinese and finally Japanese. After World
War II Taiwan was handed back to China. But when communist took control
in 1949, China's president fled to Taiwan, and ever since then both
places have had trouble getting along. Some people want to be an independent
country while others would like to reunite with China. Though they certainly
have their differences, both places share things in common including
their language and many customs and festivals.
Not only is Taiwan close to China but
it is also just a ferry ride away from the southern islands of Japan.
Taiwan has small islands of its own, too. Some like Lanyu are volcanic
rock; others like the Penghu Islands have warm sandy beaches and small
fishing villages. The east coast beaches offer excellent surfing along
with snorkeling and scuba diving. Since much of Taiwan is mountainous
you can take a leisurely hike or climb Mount Ado, Taiwan's highest peak.
The country doesn't get much snow so the Taiwanese people were clever
enough to invent grass skiing, grass tobogganing and grass sledding.
Superstitions and Celebrations
There are folk beliefs that the Taiwanese people follow which are full
of taboos, particular do's and don'ts that are connected to special
events or ceremonies. The Chinese New Year is the biggest festival in
Taiwan marking the beginning of spring. As part of the celebration,
people cook a fish at home and set it on the table -- but they don't
eat it! That's because the word for "happiness" and "fish" sound the
same, and to eat the fish would bring about bad fortune. Talking about
death is something you don't do and the symbols of death in Taiwan,
the color white and the number 4, are always avoided. You would never
give someone a clock as a present because in Chinese "to give a clock"
sounds very similar to "attend a funeral." There are also certain rules
of etiquette to follow in Taiwan (these are things you do or don't do
in order to be polite). You should always take your shoes off when you
enter someone's home - you'll be offered to wear some slippers while
you are visiting. If you want to wave to a friend or hail a cab, you
can't wave with your fingers up. Instead your fingers should be turned
down and moved as if you were sweeping something.
Aside from Chinese New Year, there are
other special festivals in Taiwan. The end of the new year festivities
are marked buy another celebration: the Lantern Festival. This festival
is marked by fireworks, dragon dances and, of course, lanterns, lights
and electrified floats filling the parks and temples. Early fall is
Ghost Month when it is thought that spirits from the underworld walk
the earth. People choose not to travel, swim, move houses or get married
during this time; instead they burn spirit money in hopes of keeping
the ghosts happy. Most festivals involve eating a special food, like
the Dragon Boat Festival when people eat rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo
leaves and the Mid-Autumn Festival when the beauty of the moon is enjoyed
by eating a sweet and perfectly round pastry called ... you guessed it, a moon cake.
Want to learn more about Taiwan? Check
out these websites listed below. Please note, when you first enter many
of these sites you will get a message box asking if you want to install
a Chinese language pack. You can just keep hitting CANCEL until the
site comes up. All these sites are in English so you won't need a language
pack. Enjoy!
This small island 100 miles off the coast
of China was called "Formosa" by the Portuguese, which means beautiful.
Today it is officially known as the Republic of China. Though people
migrated from China's mainland beginning in the 15th century, Taiwan
has long been claimed by many countries during its history. Beginning
with Dutch invaders in the 1600's, they were followed by Spanish invaders,
then the Dutch again, then Chinese and finally Japanese. After World
War II Taiwan was handed back to China. But when communist took control
in 1949, China's president fled to Taiwan, and ever since then both
places have had trouble getting along. Some people want to be an independent
country while others would like to reunite with China. Though they certainly
have their differences, both places share things in common including
their language and many customs and festivals.
There are folk beliefs that the Taiwanese people follow which are full
of taboos, particular do's and don'ts that are connected to special
events or ceremonies. The Chinese New Year is the biggest festival in
Taiwan marking the beginning of spring. As part of the celebration,
people cook a fish at home and set it on the table -- but they don't
eat it! That's because the word for "happiness" and "fish" sound the
same, and to eat the fish would bring about bad fortune. Talking about
death is something you don't do and the symbols of death in Taiwan,
the color white and the number 4, are always avoided. You would never
give someone a clock as a present because in Chinese "to give a clock"
sounds very similar to "attend a funeral." There are also certain rules
of etiquette to follow in Taiwan (these are things you do or don't do
in order to be polite). You should always take your shoes off when you
enter someone's home - you'll be offered to wear some slippers while
you are visiting. If you want to wave to a friend or hail a cab, you
can't wave with your fingers up. Instead your fingers should be turned
down and moved as if you were sweeping something.