At Chinese New Year, who doesn’t want to eat, drink and be merry? Yet in this era of food safety crises, how does one dine free from worries? The Ministry of Health and Welfare has come to the rescue by inviting top chefs to design healthy New Year meals and demonstrate how to prepare them.
Hsing Tian Kong Temple, a major center of folk religion in northern Taiwan, has cleared out its incense burners and offering tables and is encouraging devotees, rather than burning incense or making offerings of food to the deities, to demonstrate their faith with “heartfelt prayers.”
Of course, after posting New Year’s greetings on LINE and Facebook, you can also pick up some good books and serenely look within for wisdom and inspiration.
Looking beyond our island, do you know how Taiwanese living overseas spend their New Year holidays? The holidays engender thoughts of loved ones back home. For many, New Year’s is a time to think sentimentally about Taiwan and the people they have left behind.
Hsu Fen-yuh, who has lived in Italy for 20 years, is married to an Italian. She has found a new sort of holiday splendor in the fine food and drink of the Italian Christmas. Melinda Chiu, who works in Silicon Valley, describes the New Year celebrations in America’s Chinatowns and tells how familiar flavors spark nostalgia for life back in Taiwan. Despite cultural differences, the experience reminded them of the joyous New Year celebrations of their childhood.
For everyone, everywhere, New Year’s offers hope for a new beginning. Whether gorging at a feast, praying at a temple, or losing oneself amid a pile of books, the most important thing in the holiday season is for everyone to find health and good fortune. May all your wishes come true in the Year of the Ram!