Detailed Introduction
On the day the gods are seen off, the woman of the house smears a dab of sweet malt sugar on the Kitchen God's lips, hoping he will put in a few extra good words for the family up in Heaven — the first delicate gesture of the Taiwanese New Year. The Lunar New Year is Taiwan's most important traditional festival, and its string of preparations and customs begins as early as the twelfth lunar month, each step holding a deep blessing and layers of cultural meaning.
Getting Ready
Preparations open on the 16th of the twelfth lunar month with the weiya, the year-end feast at which bosses treat their staff to thank them for a year of hard work. Then comes the 24th, the "Seeing Off the Gods" day, when the Kitchen God ascends to Heaven to report to the Jade Emperor on how the family has behaved all year — hence the custom of smearing malt sugar on his lips so he will "carry only sweet words to Heaven." A week before New Year's Eve the big clean-up begins, called "sweeping the dust," symbolically clearing out the old year's bad luck to welcome the spring. Every household stocks up on festive goods, and New Year markets like Taipei's Dihua Street throng with crowds, the holiday spirit thick in the air.
The Reunion Dinner
On New Year's Eve the whole family gathers for the reunion dinner, called weilu, "gathering around the stove" — traditionally a charcoal brazier was placed under the table to symbolize the family reunited, warm and thriving. The table always holds auspicious dishes: long-leaf mustard greens (kept whole and uncut) for "longevity"; fish for "surplus year after year" (and it must not be finished — some is left until the first day to make the surplus real); radish (caitou) for "good fortune"; rice cake (niangao) for "rising higher step by step"; and dumplings, shaped like gold ingots, for "bringing in wealth and treasure." Today a hot pot around the table is the most common form the reunion dinner takes in Taiwanese homes.
Red Envelopes and Staying Up
On New Year's Eve or the first morning, elders give yasui money to the young in red envelopes, the red packet holding joy and blessing. "Yasui" originally meant "to suppress evil spirits" (sui, "evil," being a homophone of sui, "year"), a wish to keep children safe as they grow. Amounts favor even or lucky numbers (such as 600, 1,200, or 2,000) and avoid 4. Married adults also give red envelopes to honor their parents and elders. Once the envelopes are handed out, the family "keeps the year" together — staying up late through the night, which is said to add years to one's parents' lives.
Couplets and Decorations
Red couplets bearing auspicious phrases are pasted on both sides of the main door, usually put up just before New Year's Eve, their words mostly praying for a peaceful new year and flowing wealth. The character for "spring" or "fortune" is pasted upside down on the door, playing on the fact that "upside down" (dao) sounds like "arrived" (dao) — so "spring has arrived," "fortune has arrived." Red paper cuttings decorate the windows, and firecracker-shaped ornaments and red lanterns hang at the doorway, joy everywhere you look.
Customs from the First to the Fifth Day
● Day 1: Put on new clothes and go "spring visiting" to wish everyone a happy new year; head to the temples to compete for the first incense of the year. Avoid sweeping the floor (lest you sweep away your wealth) and breaking bowls or plates (and if one does break, quickly say "peace year after year").
● Day 2: Married daughters return to their parents' home, bringing their husbands and gifts to visit — the liveliest day of the year for the maternal family.
● Day 3: the "Red Dog Day," traditionally an unlucky day for visiting; it is also the day of the "mice marrying off their daughters," so people turn off the lights and go to bed early.
● Day 4: "Welcoming the Gods" day, greeting the deities back from Heaven to their posts on earth, with temples holding welcoming ceremonies.
● Day 5: the "reopening" day (kaigong), when shops open for business and set off firecrackers to welcome the God of Wealth, and workers return to their jobs.
Other New Year Elements
Festive flowers (narcissus, orchids, pussy willow, plum blossom), firecrackers, dragon and lion dances, and spring visiting — along with lighting "bright-light" lamps at the temple and "securing Taisui" for the year — are all indispensable parts of the Taiwanese Lunar New Year. During the holiday temples also hand out "wealth money" and "peace talismans," with devotees lining up for a lucky start to the new year.