Festival & Event
Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is celebrated from the first to the fifth day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Literally, Chinese people refer to this festival as “passing the year,” which means shooing out the old and welcoming the new; it is considered the most important Chinese holiday of the year. There are a number of related customs and traditions that go along with the festival.
Chinese New Year activities also include the practice of going around to friends and relatives to offer New Year’s greetings on the 1st day of the Chinese New Year, visiting the wife’s family on the 2nd day, welcoming the God of Wealth on the 4th day, and reopening business on the 5th day.
Retrieved from: http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002020
Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage
Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea, migrated to Taiwan with the people of Fujian Province in the 17th century to become one of the most revered deities on the island, where today about 870 temples are dedicated to her worship. All sorts of festive activities are arranged at this time, including puppet stand theater performances, displays of embroidered banners, float parades, dragon and lion dances, and other events as the procession passes by.
The devotees prepare meat, fruit, and vegetables as offerings; firecrackers are discharged, and incense is burned. Another climax of the activities occurs when Mazu returns home to Dajia in her palanquin; along the route, one can see hundreds of thousands of devotees holding parties for friends, relatives, and the returning pilgrims.
Retrieved from: http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002022
Spring Wave Music & Art Festival
The Spring Wave Music and Art Festival has brought us joy and laughter for the past 10 years, with a highly praised musician spirit.
Retrieved from: http://eventaiwan.tw/cal_en/cal_20009
Taiwan Balloon Festival
Big, beautiful, colorful hot air balloons dreamily float through the air as tourists hasten to catch a glimpse of their splendor or ride them through the skies, taking in the beauty of the valley below. The hot air balloon trend has promoted local tourism, and is an attractive, rising new activitiy of the 21st century.
Taiwan International Balloon Festival includes flying shows, mooring activities, balloon rides, a night glow music concert, balloon wedding celebrations, and a summer camp, providing visitors with something to take home as well as great memories. Experience the feeling of flight as well as a feast for the senses.
Retrieved from: http://eventaiwan.tw/cal_en/cal_20022
Taiwan Cycling Festival
A classic piece of dialog from the Taiwan movie Island Etude: “There are some things that, if you don’t do them now, never will.” These words set off a craze for traveling around the whole of Taiwan by bike. Doing a bicycle circuit around Taiwan has now become an item on many people’s “bucket list”!
The series of activities of the “Taiwan Cycling Festival” focus on bicycle touring and pulls together the tourist and transportation resources of the various county seats to present the specifics of a diverse and local touring culture. Accompanied by beautiful mountains and water scenery, bicycle enthusiasts from around the world can come on a pilgrimage and are provided a varied and rich recreational cycling experience, making the riding of the “iron horse” no longer a simple exercise but rather the perfect experience in body and soul.
Retrieved from: http://eventaiwan.tw/cal_en/cal_20174
Yunlin International Puppets Arts Festival
Shadow puppetry, glove puppetry, and marionette were introduced to Taiwan, blended with local customs and beliefs, and had developed into a unique art form of puppetry since, becoming three treasures of Taiwan.
The festival activities include inviting international puppet teams to perform, and sponsoring the Golden Palm Award to encourage skill contests and competitive performances of classic and innovative plays. In addition, it combines with exhibitions of arts, cultural and creative works, and installation art of agricultural product puppets, and promoting, encouraging, teaching and experiencing glove puppetry to enable sustainable development and to pass on the heritage of glove puppetry culture.
Retrieved from: http://eventaiwan.tw/cal_en/cal_20115
Fulong Sand Sculpting Art Festival
Sand sculpture is an international contemporary art form combining sculpture, culture, painting, architecture, sports activities, and recreation into one. With its unique impact, its authenticity, participatory nature, and environmental consciousness, sand sculpture seems to have become a major tourist attraction. Taiwan has considerable touristic resources.
With each passing year the event gives birth to wave after wave of critically acclaimed success and every year attracts artists from home and abroad to participate by creating their sand sculptures. So be sure to visit the Fulong International Sand Sculpture Festival and experience the energy and enthusiasm of Taiwan!
Retrieved from: http://eventaiwan.tw/cal_en/cal_20018
Song-Jiang Battle Array in Neimen, Kaohsiung
The Neimen District of Kaohsiung is called the “town of the battle array” (a type of folk street parade), as it holds more such parades—54—than any other place in the country, the Song Jiang Battle Array alone accounting for 18 of them. The Song Jiang Array, originally organized to strengthen, defend, and unite the town, under historical, generational, and government influence, turned into a theatrical drama that combined entertainment for the gods with furtive military training, eventually becoming the well-known folk art that it is today.
Retrieved from: http://eventaiwan.tw/cal_en/cal_19994
Christmasland in New Taipei City
Christmasland is a “realm of merry Christmas” in the urban setting of Xinban Special District, a sprawling playground intended for people of all ages, and also an effort to enhance New Taipei City’s global profile.
It is a gorgeously illuminated, happiness-evoking enclave that creates a fairy tale-like experience out of the country’s tallest Christmas trees, fun-packed rides, and a series of regular events from county fairs, large concerts, and markets selling handmade goods to carnival parades.
Designed with all demographic groups in mind, Christmasland is a true embodiment of the gleeful, festive atmosphere.
Retrieved from: http://eventaiwan.tw/cal_en/cal_47620
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