Lantern Festival

About two weeks after the Chinese New Year, we celebrate the Lantern Festival, whereas the Chinese New Year falls on the day of the new moon, the Lantern Festival falls on the Saturday about two weeks from the New Year's date. This is so as many people as possible can enjoy it.

In the Taipei area the biggest Lantern Festival event is held in Pingsi which is a small mining community up in the mountains North and East of Taipei. Mining in that area has been played out and having the event there was a way of helping that community. About 100,000 people mostly from Taipei went to this small village for the event.

Florence, her niece, a friend and I made the trip. It was a 3 hour train ride there, mostly spent waiting for the next train. It was a three hour bus ride back to Taipei, mostly spent in line waiting for an empty bus. It was in the longest queue of my life, at least a mile long and 4 people wide.  We left at 2PM and got back at 11PM for 6 hours in transport and 3 hours at the event. But it was worth it, in all that time in line I never saw anyone lose their temper or even complain(except Florence).

The big activity is to launch Sky Lanterns. These are 4 foot high plastic bags of hot air producted from a fire at the base of the upside down bag. Here is the sequence of events:

1. First write your hopes for the new year on the balloon.

2. Start the fire in the bottom, this is the "ghost money" soaked in kerosene.

 3. Let the hot air build up in the balloon.

4. When the balloon fills with hot air you let it go.

5. The effect is best when hundreds are released at the same time.

I suggest just ignoring any UFO reports on Lantern Festival. But then again, it would be an excellent time for the aliens to attack.

There was a rock concert going on at the same time. I then remembered that it has been a few decades since I went to a rock concert.

Most of the crowd was young people, you would have to be to put up with the transport problems.