I had to go into the office early today to grade HW. Luckily I'd gotten most of the heavy lifting out of the way and just had to fill in some test scores in the record folder. Hearing the very distinct sound of Chinese horns (laba) and symbols, I looked out the window and saw some cars passing by with bows and ribbons attached. Ah, I was familiar with this scene from China. I turned to Addie, one of the Chinese teachers I teach with.
"Wedding?"
"I don't think so."
"Oh, funeral?" Funny how it's one extreme or the other.
"No...maybe it's some temple thing."
Hm...but what temple thing?
Walking back home it was clear that normalcy had indeed been blasted to shit. Literally. Wads of firecrackers exploded all over the main thoroughfare, and you could see the results of previous salvos scattered everywhere, sanguine offerings to the gods. I saw offering tables placed in front of businesses, loaded down with pyramid arrays of fruit, sweet biscuits and crackers, and of course joss sticks planted upright...the full moon just passed like a week and a half ago, so it couldn't be that...what the hell was going on?
I didn't have any answers, but what I did have were skimpily clad girls leading a host of grandmas playing trumpets while giant demon puppets followed in tow. Hot karaoke singers rode in pairs aboard old blue vans, taking turns belting out old pop songs. What kind of temple sponsored this shit? It was like Asian Mardi Gras, minus the drinking and nudity.
And unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on me, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
Anyway, as I was going back to Hess, one of my neighbors, a gentlemen who runs an LED store and a Italian restaurant with his family, commented on the festivities. I asked him what was going on as his wife came over.
"Oh, it's Mazu's Birthday today."
"Mazu's Birthday?"
"Yep, 23rd of the 3rd month on the Lunar calendar. The temples run a circuit all around Xizhi, they get pretty close to Nangang (the next district over, so you can imagine the size of their circuit). None of the really big temples have come out yet, so it hasn't even reached its apex yet."
Oh damn, so that was it. Mazu's a big deal in Taiwan. As I was processing this information his wife gave me a good luck candy, and then immediately recanted, asking me if this was offensive to my Christian sensibilities. I smiled and told her I wasn't much of a believer. Honestly, even if I were I'd try and have the good sense to accept graciously. And, hello? Delicious coke hard candy?
Anyway Mazu's a goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors, so you can see why people would celebrate her birthday with so much fervor. And if you can't, it's because Taiwan is an island, dumbass. She was born Li Moniang in the late 10th century and became an excellent swimmer in her youth, so much so that she would wear brightly colored garments and guide ships through storms. After her death (or ascension depending on the story) she was deified, and is considered by some to be one aspect of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy.
When I talked to some of the Chinese teachers in my branch, I was surprised that a lot of them had no idea what was going on either. Personally, I'd want to know what was going on if ordinance-level firecrackers were ripping through every corner of the city I lived in. The blasts continued irregularly throughout my class, at times so bad I had to give up trying to be heard over the din.
It's cool for random shit to happen like this, and to break up an otherwise unexciting day. Scantily clad women are always nice.
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| The main street where my Hess branch is located. These are the pictures I was able to snap after running back and grabbing my camera. |
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| Seconds before this guy lit off the string. The sound punched through my ear drums and I had to clap my hands over my ears for fear of blood squirting out and hitting bystanders. |
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| And with this procession marching down the street that was the last of the festivities I saw before I had to teach. |
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