Tales of Expat Living, Teaching, and Tramping in Taiwan and Beyond.
Jade Emperor, they say it’s your birthday. And by they, I mean the industrial sized fireworks that went off by my building this morning at 7 am. My boyfriend and I (in our half- asleep state) surely thought we were under attack. One would think we would be used to it by now, what […]
The seventh day of Chinese New Year is known as Renri (人日, the common man’s birthday), and many believe this is the day when human beings were created. So today my friends, we are all one year older. Another interesting fact I discovered, is that most Asians add a year to their birth date because they […]
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, […]
Day four of Chinese New Year is somewhat uneventful compared to the last few days. The fires have dwindled, the firecrackers are fewer and further between (but make no mistake they are still going strong ), and people have slowly started to make their way back into the cities from holiday. Most importantly, the trash […]
According to legend, day two of the Chinese New Year, called the kāinián 开年 “beginning of the year”, is the birthday of all dogs. It is customary to give them special treats, so in preparation for this I bought some dog biscuits to pass out to all the pups. Usually, there are countless dogs running […]
Day one of Chinese New Year is the day for welcoming the Gods of the heavens and earth. At the same time, the evil spirits need to be chased away, hence the non-stop fireworks. In the Western world, fireworks take place on New Years Eve, and then everyone must wait another year for the time […]
I moved to Taiwan 3 weeks ago, and it just so happens that tomorrow will be Chinese New Year. As a guest in this country, I have decided to take the opportunity to experience the New Year like a local, and have made it a mission to take part in all of the traditional Chinese […]
Chinese New Year is a momentous two week celebration in China and many other Asian countries. Imagine the Christmas –er, I am being very politically incorrect. Let’s try again. Imagine the “Holiday” season in the States, and add a little ancestor homage, incense burning, pig roasting, lantern lighting, dragon dancing, and of course fireworks, and […]
Nomad Notions 