Mon, Feb 13, 2006 page2

• Nostalgia lingers for the lantern festivals of yore

  • By Jean Lin / STAFF REPORTER
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  Even as high-tech laser beam light shows, impressive 22m-tall lantern displays and chocolate-filled glutinous rice balls gradually replace the more traditional methods of celebrating Lantern Festival, many are still nostalgic for the old days.

  Most big cities in Taiwan boast of their carefully planned and designed lantern exhibitions and fireworks displays for the festival, yet many senior citizens prefer to stay at home rather than fight the crowds.

  And although store-bought lanterns are more elaborate, more colorful, and fancier than ever, middle-aged parents still prefer the milk powder can lanterns they made as children.

  Marcy Kuo (郭美綺), 44, and her mother Chuan A-chin (莊阿金) said that they remembered what it was like 35 years ago in Ilan County when all the children made lanterns out of tin-cans and held torches during Lantern Festival.

  Kuo said that a big group of children would carry torches, with the bravest one at the front of the pack, leading them down dark paths and alleys.

  According to legend, people saw gods soaring in the sky in the light of the full-moon, but as a cloud hid the moon, the gods disappeared. The people, afraid of losing their gods, lit torches to search the skies.

  Although the gods were never seen again, the torch-lighting tradition has persisted during the full-moon of the Lantern Festival.

  Yesterday in Hsinchu City, Min-Fu Community (民富社區) celebrated the holiday in the old style.

  Shen Chao-Wang (沈朝旺), director of the community's development association, said that they had decided on a traditional celebration since such festivities are rarely seen in cities these days.

  More than 150 people in the community participated in the parade of torches, all of which were handmade.

  Shen said that the torches were made from bamboo they attained from nearby mountains. The bamboo stalks were chopped in half, filled with kerosene and kindled with cloth, he said.

  "These days, most people stay at home for the Lantern Festival and don't even have lanterns," Shen said. "Through this activity, we finally saw the whole family -- grandfathers with their sons and grandsons."

  The parade lasted for more than an hour and stopped by three local temples.

  Shen said that some members of the community had never visited these temples and finally had the chance to get to know the traditional aspects of their community.

  Although only a small part of the 5,000-person community participated, as the parade passed by their doors, many still came out and watched, basking in the traditional atmosphere, he said.

  A 49-year-old mother surnamed Chen said that when she was a child, she woke up early in the morning on the day of the festival to have glutinous rice balls before heading off to Lungshan Temple to see the lantern displays.

  "My first lantern was a paper rabbit that could be pulled on wheels," Chen said. "I was so proud."

  Neighborhood children would gather at night in a vacant yard with their lanterns. They had to be on their guard, since little boys were fond of bringing slingshots to shoot rocks at the prettiest lanterns, she said.

  "The game was called `burn the lanterns,' because once the rocks shot through, the candle inside the lantern would cause the surrounding paper to catch on fire," Chen said. "My rabbit was an unfortunate victim."

  Chen said that the Lantern Festival used to be the culmination of one continuous celebration of the Lunar New Year. But in recent years it has stopped feeling so festive.

  But Linda Huang (黃秀玲), a grandmother in her seventies, disagreed, saying that the festival atmosphere was much happier these days.

  "I was a child during World War II, and all we did was hide in air-raid shelters. We had no holidays to speak of," Huang said.

  "When I had children, you could start feeling the festivities. I could afford to buy lanterns for my children and cook glutinous rice balls," Huang added.

  However, Huang said that she no longer goes to lantern displays at CKS Memorial Hall or temples.

  "At my age, I don't have the energy to fight the crowd," she said.

  When asked whether they would try the new chocolate and cheese-filled glutinous rice-balls that have appeared on the market, all the mothers interviewed said no.
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