Holidays in the Republic of China (Taiwan)
There are eight public holidays in the Republic of China (Taiwan) . Four of these holidays are based on traditional Chinese festivals . Since these are based on the lunar calendar , the holidays vary from year to year in relation to the western Gregorian calendar or the officially used Minguo calendar , which only differs from the latter in the year counting. The remaining four public holidays are dated according to the Gregorian calendar. In addition to the official holidays, there are also numerous non-official holidays.
Legal holidays
The eight days listed below are statutory holidays. Since 2015, the rule has been that in the event that a public holiday falls on the non-working weekend, a working day before or after the holiday is released as compensation.
| designation | Chinese | date | Explanations and customs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founding Day of the Republic of China (New Year) |
中華民國 開國 紀念日 ( 元旦 ) |
January 1st | The Republic of China was founded on January 1, 1912. The holiday is celebrated with official government ceremonies. |
|
Chinese New Year (Spring Festival, beginning of the lunar year) |
農曆 新年 ( 春節 ) |
the eve of the New Year celebrations (the last day of the old lunar year) and the first three days of the first lunar month (end of January / beginning of February) | The main festival in Taiwan. The preparations often begin weeks in advance. The festival is often celebrated with banquets in which the achievements of the previous year are celebrated. Typically, house doors are decorated with red paper with auspicious sayings or poems written on it. Fireworks are common at the beginning of the lunar year. Parents present their children with red envelopes containing money ( Hong Bao , 紅包 ), relatives are visited. Temples and shrines are visited to solicit the favor of deities or to commemorate the dead. |
| Peace Memorial Day | 和平 紀念日 | February 28 | Remembrance day for the February 28, 1947 incident . The day commemorates the victims of the event that caused deep divisions and controversy in Taiwanese society. The holiday is officially observed by the government. The day has been a public holiday since 1997. |
| Children's day | 兒童節 | 4. April | The holiday was officially introduced in 2011. It should remind of the rights of children. Typically, family and children's activities are encouraged on this day. |
| Tomb Care Day ( Qingming ) |
民族 掃墓 節 ( 清明節 ) |
the 15th day after the equinox in spring (4th or 5th of April) | The holiday comes from a centuries-old Chinese tradition. Traditionally, the graves of the deceased are visited and put in order. The name Qingming comes from the mostly clear April weather on this day. |
|
Dragon Boat Festival (Poet's Day) |
端午節 ( 詩人 節 ) |
5th day of the 5th lunar month (end of May / beginning of June) | Dragon boat races typically take place on the rivers on the holiday. Legend has it that the holiday goes back to the poet Qu Yuan ( 屈原 ), who was a loyal advisor to the emperor and drowned in a river after being falsely accused of treason. To keep the fish away from his corpse, fishermen paddled onto the water and threw fish food into the river. In memory of the fish feed, zongzi ( 粽子 ), sticky rice dumplings with variable filling in bamboo leaves, are traditionally consumed. |
| Moon Festival , Mid-Autumn Festival | 中秋節 | 15th day of the 8th lunar month (September / beginning of October) | Together with the beginning of the lunar year and the Dragon Boat Festival, it is one of the most important festivals in Taiwan. Moon cake , round cakes with a rich filling, are traditionally eaten on this day . The mid-autumn festival also commemorates the mythical Chang'e ( 嫦娥 ), a beautiful woman who, after drinking an immortal drink, is said to have flown to the moon in the company of a jade hare ( 玉兔 , Yùtù ). |
| National holiday | 國慶 日 | October 10th | The holiday commemorates the beginning of the Wuchang Uprising ( 武昌 起義 ) on October 10, 1911, which subsequently led to the establishment of the Republic of China. |
Other holidays and remembrance days
The following days are not officially non-working days.
| designation | Chinese | date | Explanations and customs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Retransfer Day | 臺灣 光復 節 | October 25 | After the capitulation of Japan , Taiwan, which had been under Japanese rule since 1895 , was transferred to the Republic of China. The island was officially handed over on October 25, 1945. The day thereafter was regularly celebrated as "retransmission day", but was never a public holiday. Critics complained that the term "retransfer" was incorrect, since the Republic of China was only founded in 1912 and had therefore never been owned by the island of Taiwan (before 1895, Taiwan was part of the Chinese Empire ). Supporters of the "retransmission day" in Taiwan are mainly the representatives of the one-China concept. |
| Lantern Festival | 元宵節 | on the 15th day of the first lunar month (in February) | The Lantern Festival is a Chinese festival with a very old tradition. It is celebrated with colorful lanterns and marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations. |
| Armed Forces Day | 軍人 節 | September 3 | Armed Forces Day was introduced as an official memorial day in 1995. The date reference is the first day of peace after Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945. Members of the armed forces can get this day off, but it is not a general holiday. Before 1995, there were various memorial days for the army. |
| Teachers and Learning Day | 孔子 誕辰 紀念日 /／ 教師 節 | September 28th | As early as 1939, the then Ministry of Education of the Republic of China had declared August 28, the anniversary of Confucius ' birthday, to be an official holiday on the mainland . After the birthday was corrected by a month by scholars, the 1952 holiday was revived in the Republic of China, Taiwan. |
| Constitution Day | 行 憲 紀念日 | 25 December | Introduced in 1963 by the Executive Yuan to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of China on December 25, 1946. It is officially celebrated with thanks to the armed forces. |
Web links and sources
- Executive Yuan (Ed.): The Republic of China Yearbook 2016 . 2016, ISBN 978-986-05-0041-7 , ISSN 1013-0942 , ii Appendix: Holidays, Festivals & Events, p. 280-285 (English, pdf ).
- Work Calendar - the official calendar of work and non-working holidays, published by the General Directorate for Personnel Issues of the Executive Yuan
Individual evidence
- ↑ Executive Yuan (ed.): The Republic of China Yearbook 2016 . 2016, ISBN 978-986-05-0041-7 , ISSN 1013-0942 , ii Appendix: Holidays, Festivals & Events, p. 280-285 (English, pdf ).
- ^ Taiwan's Peace Memorial Day on February 28 with flags at half-staff (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago). Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 10, 2008, accessed June 9, 2018 .
- ^ Lantern Festival. Taiwan Tourism Office, accessed June 8, 2018 .
- ^ Respect for Teachers and Learning - Teacher's Day. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010 ; accessed on July 7, 2018 .
- ↑ President salutes soldiers on Armed Forces Day. Focus Taiwan, September 3, 2016, accessed July 7, 2018 .
- ^ Armed Forces Day. Archived from the original on December 7, 2009 ; accessed on July 7, 2018 .