Taiwan Lantern Festival

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The Taiwan Lantern Festival (Chinese: 臺灣燈會; pinyin: Táiwān dēnghuì) is an annual event hosted by the Tourism Bureau (觀光局) of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (交通部) in Taiwan to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

There are many activities all over Taiwan during Taiwan Lantern Festival. During the Taiwan Lantern Festival, thousands of sky lanterns light over Pingxi District (平溪) in Taiwan. In Yanshui District, the firecrackers ceremony of Wumiao Temple is also one of the important activities.[citation needed]. The Tainan Yanshui Fireworks Display ("beehive of fireworks") was originally celebrated to ward of evil and disease from the town. The Taipei Pingshi Sky Lanterns were released originally to let others know that the town was safe. These lanterns are decorated with wishes and images relating to the owner. These two events are known together as "Fireworks in the South, Sky Lanterns in the North."

pictured Teemo, the League of Legends Champion, during Taiwan Lantern Festival 2013.

History

Starting from 1990, the Tourism Bureau integrated civilian and local governmental resources to conduct the event to celebrate the Lantern Festival (fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar) and the end of the Chinese New Year. The purpose of the festival is to spread the traditional folklore festival. It is also known as the Yuan Xiao Festival.

The firecrackers ceremony of the Wumiao Temple in Yanshui District was held by ancient people in order to show respect for the exploits of Guan Yu. Fengpao is the ceremony to start to burn thousands of soaring firecrackers hung on a five to twenty-five meters high wooden stand. This ceremony starts from six o'clock in the afternoon until five o'clock in the morning. Thousands of people and visitors attend the ceremony.[citation needed]

The festival is the most important annual lantern festival in Taiwan. Earlier times, the event was held in Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park in Taipei. Since 2001, the event toured around Taiwan.

In 2009, the festival was on Monday 9 February.

The American Discovery Channel's program "Fantastic Festivals of the World" has highlighted the Taiwan Lantern Festival as one of the best festivals in the world.

Main lantern

The theme of the main lanterns often corresponds with the zodiac signs of Chinese astrology. All of them are over ten meters tall.

The smaller lanterns, often carried by children or placed on temples, show images of historical figures, birds, or images from that year's theme.

References

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taiwan Lantern Festival.

    The lanterns depict images such as historical figures, birds, or of the theme determined each year.

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