Even as high-tech laser beam light shows, impressive 22m-tall lantern displays and chocolate-filled glutinous rice balls gradually replace the more traditional methods of celebrating Lantern Festival, many are still nostalgic for the old days.
Most big cities in Taiwan boast of their carefully planned and designed lantern exhibitions and fireworks displays for the festival, yet many senior citizens prefer to stay at home rather than fight the crowds.
And although store-bought lanterns are more elaborate, more colorful, and fancier than ever, middle-aged parents still prefer the milk powder can lanterns they made as children.
Marcy Kuo (郭美綺), 44, and her mother Chuan A-chin (莊阿金) said that they remembered what it was like 35 years ago in Ilan County when all the children made lanterns out of tin-cans and held torches during Lantern Festival.
Kuo said that a big group of children would carry torches, with the bravest one at the front of the pack, leading them down dark paths and alleys.
According to legend, people saw gods soaring in the sky in the light of the full-moon, but as a cloud hid the moon, the gods disappeared. The people, afraid of losing their gods, lit torches to search the skies.
Although the gods were never seen again, the torch-lighting tradition has persisted during the full-moon of the Lantern Festival.
Yesterday in Hsinchu City, Min-Fu Community (
Shen Chao-Wang (沈朝旺), director of the community's development association, said that they had decided on a traditional celebration since such festivities are rarely seen in cities these days.
More than 150 people in the community participated in the parade of torches, all of which were handmade.
Shen said that the torches were made from bamboo they attained from nearby mountains. The bamboo stalks were chopped in half, filled with kerosene and kindled with cloth, he said.
"These days, most people stay at home for the Lantern Festival and don't even have lanterns," Shen said. "Through this activity, we finally saw the whole family -- grandfathers with their sons and grandsons."
The parade lasted for more than an hour and stopped by three local temples.
Shen said that some members of the community had never visited these temples and finally had the chance to get to know the traditional aspects of their community.
Although only a small part of the 5,000-person community participated, as the parade passed by their doors, many still came out and watched, basking in the traditional atmosphere, he said.
A 49-year-old mother surnamed Chen said that when she was a child, she woke up early in the morning on the day of the festival to have glutinous rice balls before heading off to Lungshan Temple to see the lantern displays.
"My first lantern was a paper rabbit that could be pulled on wheels," Chen said. "I was so proud."
Neighborhood children would gather at night in a vacant yard with their lanterns. They had to be on their guard, since little boys were fond of bringing slingshots to shoot rocks at the prettiest lanterns, she said.
"The game was called `burn the lanterns,' because once the rocks shot through, the candle inside the lantern would cause the surrounding paper to catch on fire," Chen said. "My rabbit was an unfortunate victim."
Chen said that the Lantern Festival used to be the culmination of one continuous celebration of the Lunar New Year. But in recent years it has stopped feeling so festive.
But Linda Huang (
"I was a child during World War II, and all we did was hide in air-raid shelters. We had no holidays to speak of," Huang said.
"When I had children, you could start feeling the festivities. I could afford to buy lanterns for my children and cook glutinous rice balls," Huang added.
However, Huang said that she no longer goes to lantern displays at CKS Memorial Hall or temples.
"At my age, I don't have the energy to fight the crowd," she said.
When asked whether they would try the new chocolate and cheese-filled glutinous rice-balls that have appeared on the market, all the mothers interviewed said no.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as