Women head to families' homes

Sitting in front of the Taoyuan train station yesterday morning, holding her six-month-old son in her arms, 21-year-old Lin Chao-yin (林昭吟) appeared lost and tired.

Having spent her first Chinese New Year at the home of her husband's family in Taoyuan, the newlywed Lin said she felt "relieved" now that she could return to her own family's home in Yunlin.

"I'm really glad that I can return to my parents' home ... My mother always prepares what I like to eat," Lin said, grinning.

Lin was not alone yesterday. As part of the Chinese tradition of celebrating the Lunar New Year, tens of thousands of married women in Taiwan returned to their parents' homes yesterday, the second day of the Year of the Dragon.

Many women yesterday said they were happy to have the rare opportunity to visit their relatives, especially those who live far away.

Chen Chun-niang (陳春娘), a Paiwan Aborigine -- one of the nine major Aboriginal peoples in Taiwan -- said although it's not a Paiwan tradition, it was nevertheless "natural" for her to pick up the tradition and make the trip.

"I feel happy because I can get together with my family. It's an annual opportunity, and hard to come by," Chen said, while waiting for a train headed for southern Pingtung, her hometown.

With her two children in tow and lugging five big bags full of gifts, Taipei resident Lu Yi-chu (盧一珠) said it was fun to return to her home in Ilan.

"I've been doing this for years. I'll visit my mother first, and then I'll accompany her to return to her own mother's home later this evening," she said.

The fun part, Lu added, included a "prize drawing" that is being organized by her relatives in Ilan. "Whoever participates gets a prize," Lu said. "So it's important and it's fun [to return]."

Peng Ming-guang (彭明光), stationmaster at Taoyuan's train station, estimated that about 55,000 passengers would be passing through the station yesterday.

Peng said fear of traffic jams on Taiwan's highways and misgivings about the domestic airline industry lead many people to choose the train as their means of transport.

"Some even said that they were still afraid of a potential Y2K crisis, so they avoided taking planes," he said.

Chang Wen-hua (張文華), 42, said yesterday that after flying for the first time, she decided not to try it again.

"I feel unsafe on planes, so it's better to take the train home," she said.

A woman surnamed Wu was another example. She said her husband had refused to drive her and her sons back to Changhua for fear of traffic jams, so she decided to try the railway instead.

Wu Po-hsun (吳柏勳), her 10-year-old son, beamed after his mother bought their tickets at the Taipei train station yesterday morning.

"I am very happy, because I can see my grandmother. I see her once every year -- during Chinese New Year," Wu said, flashing a smile.