On the sixth day of the lunar new year, my best Taiwanese friend invited me to attend her hometown's annual parade of 神豬 holy pigs-- featuring three freshly slaughtered and skinned pigs, ranked according to size, paraded around town with the instantly recognizable cacophonous religious music before being brought to the temple of the local god. Afterwards, it was an honor to be invited to her family's house, even briefly.
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| 三峽 Sanxia District of New Taipei City |
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| 米苔目 for breakfast |
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| 山藥 purple "mountain medicine" cakes |
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| 豬血糕 pig's blood cake |
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Buying 金牛角 golden cow horns, or Taiwanese croissants sold locally
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| Hiking to a lookout spot with her family |
On the fifteenth day of the lunar new year, I went to Shifen for 元宵節, the Lantern Festival. My friends and I wrote our wishes on paper lanterns and released them along with thousands of others. All around the city of Taipei, there's been other immersive LED light exhibits with ongoing celebrations.
That same weekend was 蜂炮, the Beehive Fireworks Festival in 鹽水 Yanshui District in the southern city of Tainan. Millions of fireworks are exploded directly at participants, who wear protective gear. I didn’t go, but a friend sent me her video.
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