A bottle rocket dodge and dash in Taiwan.
To be honest, day six of Chinese New Year is absent of special rituals. We are at the part of the New Year where things have hit a lull. The middle days are a time of quiet (minus the fireworks) when families feast and spend time together, leading to the final day celebration blowouts.
Shockingly, today one is encouraged to blast as many fireworks as possible to continue chasing away those constantly looming, bad spirits. And this they did. All along the streets bottle rockets popped off everywhere, shooting bright streams of exploding fire into the night sky. As I was riding my bicycle, I observed countless people standing in the streets, wearing motorcycle helmets for protection, and shooting a constant barrage of anti-bad spirit artillery.
I asked a Taiwanese friend if people often get hurt. He didn’t even flinch when he replied “oh yes, all of the time”. Well, I guess one lost arm or eye is miles better than evil spirits haunting you all year.
Nomad Notions 
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