An update on the Chinese New Year

What's it like in Taiwan for the Chinese New Year?

A little underwhelming, frankly.  What we didn't know coming from the West is that it is primarily a family holiday, that is celebrated behind closed doors, with meals and mahjong games.  So while we were expecting fireworks and music and lion dances, most of the holiday has taken place away from our eyes.  In this way, it more resembles our Christmas than it does Western New Year.

We waited up for fireworks on new year's eve, but didn't hear anything.  The next day, and every day since, we've heard the occasional burst of firecrackers, but it turns out fireworks are banned in urban areas.  We've waited for a municipal display, since that's what we do in the U.S. in areas where fireworks are banned, but no dice.  We did see a very brief shower of fireworks in the reflection of a nearby building, so there's that.  I heard drumming, but only on the first day.

The new year festival is six days long.  Garbage trucks--which play a jingle, not unlike ice cream trucks back home--were out in force Friday, and weren't seen again until today, the fourth day.  Most businesses remain shuttered, but most restaurants and grocery stores have stayed open, thankfully, albeit with abbreviated hours.

Some of the superstitions surrounding the new year are familiar to us in the West: cleaning house before the new year, paying all outstanding bills, and eating pork.  Less familiar is avoiding cutting one's hair or nails on the new year, or using knives.  I'm sure there are scores of others of which I am unaware.

What observances I have seen are chiefly decorations: most buildings have red vertical banners with calligraphy on both sides of the door, and also red silk lanterns, usually in multiples, more for smaller lanterns and fewer for larger ones.  The lobby of our building has out bowls of oranges, and gold-colored "ingots" full of interesting Chinese candies.  The traditional greeting is gong xi (gung shee), meaning "Congratulations," though I have been greeted with "Happy new year" in English, too.  One gentleman working the lobby desk even gave me the traditional salute of the left hand wrapped over the right fist, which is a very sincere and touching gesture.

While taking out our compost, I saw a family using a brazier the building set up for residents to use, burning offerings of so-called "hell money" (seems like a pejorative term, but I don't know of an alternative term), imitation paper currency for the propitiation of ancestors.  Also, later on, I walked past the temple around the corner, and it was fairly buzzing with people burning paper offerings (not only hell money but also origami ingots made from metallic paper) and incense.  I half-suspect the fireworks we saw refected were set off at the temple.

So, while I still hear the occasional staccato pops of firecrackers (some went off just now), commercial life is picking up and the new year festivities seem to be ramping down, for the time being.  The end of the new year season is the Lantern Festival, which takes place the 15th day after the new year (Feb. 11th this year), and we have some hope of seeing public festivities then.