Most people may not have expected it, but for residents in Pingtung County’s two small villages of Wanjin (萬金) and Chishan (赤山) — with a combined population of about 5,000 — Christmas is the most important festivity of the year, since about 80 percent of the villagers are Catholics.
One after another, fireworks were shot into the sky as Christmas songs were sung and a carriage, drawn by men in Santa Claus outfits and carrying two children dressed up as Joseph and the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, passed through the crowd. Church volunteers led the way, while onlookers took pictures of the parade.
In the past, the carriage was drawn by a cow. However, as the number of visitors grows, the church has decided to have people draw the carriage because a cow would be easily scared by the crowd.
Photo: CNA
“Merry Christmas. May peace be upon you,” the paraders and the onlookers said to each other, with smiles on their faces.
Many may have thought that parades on Christmas Eve only took place in predominantly Christian countries, but the residents of the two small villages neighboring Wanluan Township (萬巒) have celebrated Christmas for well over a century.
“We have just celebrated the 151st anniversary of the founding of the Wanjing Basilica, and we’ve always had a parade since the founding of the church here to express and share our joy for the birth of Christ,” said Pan Ching-yu (潘清雨), a priest at the basilica.
Prior to the parade, at the entrance of Chishan, a group of priests and young volunteers had traveled to another village named Jiazuo (佳佐), about 2km south of Chishan, to pick up the children dressed up as Joseph and Mary holding baby Jesus in a reconstructed stable, and paraded them through Chishan and Wanjin villages.
The parade ended at the basilica, where a mass was held.
The parade symbolizes the villagers welcoming Jesus and is also to spread the faith, said Baru, a priest of the Paiwan tribe.
“There are seven neighborhoods in Wanjin and Chishan, plus Jiazuo Village, so a total of eight communities in the surrounding areas of Wanjin Basilica take turns to stage the Nativity,” he said. “Representatives from the eight neighborhoods hold meetings to make the decision.”
Pan explained why there was such a concentration of Catholics in the two villages.
“The two villages were historically severely impoverished, but things began to change when the Spanish missionary Father Fernando Sainz arrived in Wanjin in 1861,” Pan said. “He made great efforts trying to help the villagers economically, while also mediating ethnic conflict. Through his acts of benevolence, he gained the trust of the people and a large number of people were converted to Christianity.”
For instance, many villagers at the time had to sell their land for cash, and without land, they would not be able to make a living, Pan said.
“So what Father Sainz did was purchase the land with church funds and continue to allow the original landowners to work their land,” he said.
Ethnic conflicts were also a serious problem because Wanjin and Chishan are Hoklo-speaking villages surrounded by Hakka-speaking and Paiwan Aboriginal communities, Pan added.
In fact, although Wanjin and Chishan are Hoklo-speaking villages, the majority of the villagers are descendants of the Makataos, a Pingpu Aboriginal tribe.
Christmas celebrations have long attracted Catholics from across the country and promotion by the Pingtung County Government since last year has made it a popular event even for non-Christians.
Like most other events attracting large crowds of visitors, the tens of thousands of visitors pouring into the villages on Christmas Eve also had some negative impact.
“I noticed there is a lot of trash on the ground,” one storeowner in Wanjin said. “Plus, when you have so many people here, you would expect that your business would grow, but it’s not the case because most of the hundreds of stalls are from other places.”
Wanjin Village Chief Pan Jung-hsin (潘榮信) agreed that the overwhelming crowds and the street vendors have tarnished the sanctity of the religious event.
“We certainly welcome everyone to come here to share our joy, and we also welcome vendors from anywhere to come and make some money,” he said. “However, whether you are here as a visitor or a vendor, you must bear in mind that this is a religious event and religious factors should always be kept as the core of the event.”
For example, some vendors have wanted to set up their stalls right at the front gate of the basilica, he said.
“We asked them to move elsewhere, but they refused and had a fight with us,” he said. “Although they eventually moved away because we insisted, incidents like these are really troubling.”
According to Pan Jung-hsin, visitors in the past were amazed by the Christmas decorations outside houses in the village, but the decorations are less visible now because street vendors’ booths have blocked the view of most of the houses there.
He called on the county government to put more effort into managing the event, rather than just promoting it.
“I’m happy to see so many people enjoy taking part in our Christmas celebrations, and I’m equally happy to see our village becoming more visible through the events,” he said. “With more communication [with the county government] on how to better manage the vendors, I believe the event will improve every year.”
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday hosted a reception to celebrate Double Ten National Day. Conservative Canadian lawmaker Marc Dalton called Taiwan a “beacon of courage and resilience in the face of rising authoritarianism,” according to a post on the Taiwan in Vancouver Facebook page. Also in attendance were fellow conservative caucus members Tako Van Popta and Chak Au, who said that Taiwan plays an “indispensable role” in ensuring global peace, prosperity and stability due to its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region, it said. Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper also recorded a message wishing Taiwan a