April Events
Craig March 28th, 2008
As another month comes to a close, it’s once again time for a look at events and goings on over the next few weeks. March was a busy month, and April is shaping up to be equally as busy, with a couple of major festivals taking place here in Taiwan.
Before we head into April, there’s a little bit left of March, so this Sunday the 30th get yourselves down to the main gate of NTU on Roosevelt and Xinsheng Rds, Taipei (è‡ºå¤§æ ¡é–€å£é›†åˆ) at 3pm for Critical Mass.
There’s also an ongoing daily vigil for Tibet taking place at Freedom Square/Democracy Hall, formerly known as Chinag Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. A 49 hour hunger strike will be undertaken from 3pm Friday the 28th until 4pm Sunday the 30th.
Moving into April, the annual Spring Scream Festival kicks off on Friday the 4th and runs until the 6th down in Kenting. More than 250 bands and DJs will be cranking out the tunes for your aural pleasure.
Also on the 4th, the Husan Tien Emperor Ritual will take place at Shuo Tien Temple in Songshan Village, Minchien township, Nantou.
Sticking with the religious theme, April (lunar March) is the time when Taiwan goes mad for Mazu (Matsu). Mazu’s birthday is on lunar March 23rd (April 28 this year) but the various festivals are held at different times through the month. The biggest of these is the Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage. This is actually on the the biggest religious events in the world, with over 1 million participants. For some background, you can check out my report from last years festival. The 2008 Dajia pilgrimage begins on Saturday the 5th and makes its way on a 300km journey through Central Taiwan, finally returning to Dajia on Sunday the 13th. Definitely not one to miss. There are also other Mazu festivals taking place at Kungtien Temple, Tongshiao, Miaoli and a Floating Mazu Procession is held on Penghu.
April 7th (lunar March 2nd) sees the Wangchuan Ritual taking place at Suchu in Antin, Tainan. Wangchuan means “king boat” and this festival is a ritual burning on the boat. A 2km procession line forms along the banks of the Tsangwen River, culminating in the burning of the offering boat to allow the God to tour heaven.
In Jiayi on April 11th (lunar March 6th) the Swing Temple Fair will be held. Giant 12m high swings are erected at Hsuan Tien Emperor Temple in Jiayi city and participants are able to swing themselves to get closer to heaven.
April 13th (lunar March 8th) is the date of the Chuwei Passing Over Fire Ritual. Passing over the fire allows believers to cleanse themselves of demons and purge disasters. This festival is held at Chuwei, Taiyuan township, Taoyuan county.
Also on the 13th, Taoyuan Stadium plays host to this years Songkran Festival. Songkran is the Thai New Year, and with over 100 000 Thai workers living in Taiwan, it is a big event. The Taiwan blogospheres very own New Hampshire Bushman will be on stage playing guitar with one of the bands performing. Many of the activities at Songkran are quite similar to those at Chinese New Year, with visiting temples, offering gifts and wearing new clothes all important aspects. Songkran is also referred to as the Water Festival, as it’s traditional to sprinkle fragrant water on people. This often turns into a full-blown water fight - great fun in the April heat.
April 16th (lunar March 11th) the Visit Baijiao festival is held in Tainan county. Worshippers pray and offer incense to King Bao Shan (Medicine God) to give thanks for safety and prosperity.
There’s another Bao shan festival as well, this time in Bao-an temple, Taipei. This takes place on April 19 and 20 (lunar March 14/15) to celebrate Baoshan’s birthday. Taiwanese opera performances are a big part of the ritual.
Stepping away from temple festivals for a minute, April 20th is the date for a Reclaim the Streets event in Taipei. Details to follow.
Beginning on April 24 and running until May 2nd is the Urban Nomad film festival featuring experimental film/ video, animation, comedic shorts, political documentary, music documentary, skateboard/ surfing, gender, and internet shorts.
April 25th (lunar March 20) sees the Yi Hsiang festival in Tai Tien temple, Matou, Tainan. Worshippers gather into groups and go to the temple to invite the five highnesses (Li, Ci, Wu, Chu, and Fan) to make an inspection tour.
The weekend of April 26 and 27 sees a cosplay event taking place at NTU, Taipei. David Reid has a report and some photos from the last cosplay that was held there.
On April 30th, the Bunan tribe’s Ear Hitting Ritual takes place at Yenping in Taidong. This is the biggest and most important festival for this Aboriginal tribe, with feasts and rituals taking place.
Running throughout the whole month of April are a few flower festivals. Yangmingshan hosts the Yangmingshan Flower Festival, Alishan the Cherry Blossom Festival and in various parts of Miaoli have Tung Blossom festivals. Finally, theres the joint harvest festival in Kaohsiung county celebrated by the Rukuo tribe in Maolin, the Bunan tribe in Taoyuan (township in Kaohsiung, not Taoyuan city) and the Tsou at Sanmin.
As always, if you know of anything else going on during the month, drop me a line and I’ll add it in.
