I use this example when teaching Americans about the importance of getting the tones right when learning Chinese. You don’t want to accidentally say, “I’m going to the death floor.”
Second, Taiwan celebrates a different new year than Americans do!
While Americans celebrate the New Year on January 1st, Chinese people celebrate the New Year based on the Lunar New Year.
This means that Taiwan will celebrate the Chinese New Year on January 22, 2023. Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival or Chunjie (春節), is one of the biggest holidays in Taiwan. That means that Taiwanese people will take a week off work and Taiwanese students actually have the month off for their winter break.
Instead of working or studying, people tend to go home to their families and celebrate the New Year with their local communities! People will do dragon or lion dances that you may have seen before, eat lots of incredible food and spend time with their families.
Third, many Taiwanese traditions are religious in nature.
One thing that you will notice when you first arrive in Taiwan is just how many temples there are. In fact, there is an average of one temple or religious building for every square kilometer of Taiwan. This is because Taiwan is one of the most religious countries in the world!
These temples celebrate many of the traditional religions of Taiwan such as Buddhism and Taoism with a Confucian worldview. The majority of Taiwanese people practice some form of ancient Chinese religion. As a result, you will see Taiwanese people worshiping at temples all across the island.
