Lunar New Year is the time for some of the Asian countries to celebrate holiday seasons. This year, we have seven-day vacation for people to reunite with their families and prepare the gifts to their loved ones. People who work in different cities can finally return to their hometown and meet with their relatives to either exchange red envelopes, or discuss some mundane issues such as marriage, job history or achievement in school.

Have feasts each day

Normally we eat fish and radish pan cakes for wishing the good luck for the rest of days. Speaking of fine foods, the recipe and ingredients may be different depends on each family. Nowadays, people decide to make things simple and save time for preparing foods, so some families would make reservation at restaurants or order from the chefs. We are the kind of people who like to share gourmet foods with everyone, so the Lunar New Year is definitely the times that we cannot miss. I prepared some different ethnic foods, which Lunar New Year is still celebrated among these countries, hoping we can have wonderful holidays together.

Time to relax and explore locally

It’s surprisingly to find that the museum is still opened during holidays. Many families bring their children outside to enjoy the sunshine day and watch educational films in the same time. My favorite part is “The lost empire of Cambodia”, which reminds me of the past golden eras in Taiwan and everyone is accountable for the advancement of this island.

Worship at the temple

The culture of temples in Taiwan can be traced back to centuries ago. During the ancient days, there were not any advanced medical equipments nor highly efficient medicines to cure our pain, the temple became one of the beliefs in our society since then. The power of faith is amazing sometimes, and those temples and Gods are still worshipped by us because of their positive power. Some people even make the schedule for followers who would like to visit temples for good luck, health, romance or wealth.

According to some fortune tellers, if you are wishing for some certain things, you need to visit the temple at certain period of time. Believe it or not, as long as you have faith in our Gods, I think they will protect and help you. In order to welcome international visitors, some temples provide English and Japanese versions of fortune sticks, so after you follow all the procedures to get yours, you can understand the meaning.

We will have the lighting ceremony at temples each year, and it’s practiced with long history for bringing peaceful and harmonic lives. You can leave your messages, name of the person who you want to make him/her safe, and the fee for the ritual. I am impressed by one of the Taiwanese politicians, Mark Ho, who did this to help Trump & Biden for wishing them both successful in the States.

Today is also Valentine’s Day, so don’t forget to talk with your lover or prepare the special chocolate to those who you care for. Happy Lunar New Year~