For today's Friday Fests, we're traveling to Taiwan for the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival, held in the neighboring towns of Pingxi and Shifen, with the latter hosting the main event. Each year the date of the event changes based on the 1st full moon of the Chinese Lunar New Year and this year it begins on February 8th with people celebrating for up to two weeks after the fact. This festival is kind of a big deal and had bragging rights being on Fodor's list of 14 festivals to attend before you die, when you think of all of the festivals there are in the world, to make a top 14 list is pretty darn impressive. It also boasts glowing (no pun intended) recommendations from Discovery Channel, naming it the second biggest new years celebration in the world, and is listed on CNN's 52 Things to Do.
In the small hillside town of Shifen, everybody is gearing up for the 100,000-200,000 rice paper lanterns that will be decorating the skies over the next two weeks. People are flocking to the sites and preparing the wishes they'd like to write on their lanterns while the towns have prepared for the mass influx of visitors from around the world and made sure everything is set for the festival at each location. The event is completely free and you can choose to either buy lanterns from the vendors, who will provide ink and brush as well as help you write your wish on the lantern, or you can receive one of the free lanterns provided at each of the releasing sessions. I'm not sure the difference, but assume that the free ones are very basic while the ones to purchase are more ornate or have different designs to choose from.
Starting at 6pm on the 8th there is a whole calendar chock full of events including 8 waves of lantern releasing, 7 different performances, and a speech from the mayor. This weekend will also see night markets, vendors, and fireworks making it the most exciting (and therefore busiest) time to check it out. However, the actual festival lasts for about 2 weeks, with large castings happening nightly and it seems like you can even light your own lanterns and send them up at any time during the festival. Just without the grand to-do to go along with it. If you're the eco-friendly type and are wondering about your options for a safer and more earth conscience alternative, there is a group called Bank of Culture that will fit your needs. Instead of being made with the traditional bamboo frame and brown burning paper/rice paper, they have come up with a solution that uses recycled pulp that burns up completely in the sky. But where did thus beautiful event originate from?
There are a couple of different ideas when it comes to this festival's roots. The more detailed one I found was that in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) villages were remote and difficult to protect, leaving them susceptible to attacks from bandits and other troublemakers. Any able-bodied men in these villages were left to defend their homes while the rest of the villagers hunkered down high up in the mountains until the worst of it was over (typically the end of winter). When the men in the villages deemed that it was safe for the rest to come back, they would send up sky lanterns as a signal to those that were hiding. Another origin story I found was that the lanterns got their humble beginnings as prayer lanterns, being released at the start of planting season carrying hopes of easy childbearing and bountiful harvests. Regardless of which you believe; it was the new-found interest, respect and level of value being placed on cultural traditions at the end of the 20th century that caused the releasing of sky lanterns to become an annual event.
If you're thinking about checking this out in 2021 or 2022 (I know I am!), please visit Cerise over at https://www.enchantedvagabond.com/taiwan/guide-to-pingxi-lantern-festival-in-taiwan-when-to-go-and-how-to-get-there/ she has an AMAZING and extraordinarily detailed post regarding this event, the dates you can plan for the next two years, places to do stay, other things to do in the area, how to get there, travel tips, what to pack, and most likely a couple of other things I failed to list. It's very comprehensive, informative, and a great read. Should cover any questions that you might have!
Sources:
Comments