Taiwanese superstitions

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Taiwanese superstitions are widely believed among the Taiwanese population as these superstitions stem from legends, folklore, traditions, customs that have been practiced throughout generations, and many more.

Contents

Societal superstitions

An elevator in Taiwan that is missing a button for the fourth floor of a building. Tetraphobia (no button for 4th floor in an elevator).jpg
An elevator in Taiwan that is missing a button for the fourth floor of a building.

Gift-giving superstitions

Taiwanese people are known to exchange gifts amongst one another on many occasions as a sign of respect and good faith. And as such, it is essential for them to understand the taboos and superstitions behind several gift giving traditions so that they do not unintentionally disrespect the other party.

If a person accidentally gifts someone a taboo gift, the recipient is required to give him/her a small amount of money, such as a $1 coin. This small gesture would indicate that the inauspicious gift was technically bought and not gifted; therefore, any unfortunate superstition behind it will be rescinded.

People are expected to refrain from gifting the following:

In the Taiwanese culture, gifting clocks and/or watches could be seen as wishing ill upon the recipient. Arcadia watch c 1950.png
In the Taiwanese culture, gifting clocks and/or watches could be seen as wishing ill upon the recipient.

The Chinese phrase for “to give someone a clock” has an underlying meaning of “sending someone off,” [1] otherwise interpreted as wishing death upon the person that was gifted clocks.

Handkerchiefs are usually avoided as an option when thinking about gifts as handkerchiefs are generally used to wipe away tears [1] during sad occasions. Henceforth, gifting handkerchiefs is believed to bring bad fortune upon the recipient due to the downcast association handkerchiefs come along with.

It is widely accepted that gifting sharp objects such as knives or scissors would come across as the person who prepared this gift to be subtly indicating the intent to sever his/her relationship [1] with the recipient. This is because sharp objects are usually used to cut and separate objects, thus transcending this function into a form of superstition.

Even though pens are considered as acceptable gifts, it is frowned upon to gift pens with red ink. Red is generally an auspicious colour in the Taiwanese culture, but in terms of red ink, it symbolises blood. Therefore, writing a person’s name in red would come across as wishing grave injuries or even death upon them. [2]

Feng shui

Another big superstition in the Taiwanese culture is feng shui, also known as geomancy. Feng shui superstitions have been playing such an influential role on in Taiwan’s society that many people hire feng shui experts to determine the proper orientation of buildings, rooms, doors, and other architecture and/or furniture when they purchase properties or decorate the interiors of their home. [6] [7] [8]

Superstitions and folklore

Superstitions play a huge role in moulding many Taiwanese peoples’ lifestyles, especially during festivities as many superstitions stem from ancient folklore that have been told through generations.

Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, celebrates the beginning of a new year according to the Chinese calendar. During this period of about 15 days, many Taiwanese people celebrate its traditions and more importantly, strictly adhere to the superstitions the come with this occasion.

As it is believed that on the first day of Lunar New Year, various gods travel back to heaven to pay respect to the Jade Emperor as well as provide reports on household affairs on Earth, locals are required to honour these gods by burning ritualistic paper money. [1] Furthermore, according to legends, it is believed that during the New Year, a monstrous beast known as Nian would appear and wreak havoc on local villages. The wreckage caused by Nian was only stopped when the colour red was placed everywhere, and fireworks and loud noises were set off to scare the beast away. [1]

As such, it is now tradition that during the first day of Lunar New Year, fireworks and firecrackers are set off with the intention to scare away any bad luck, spirits, and/or energies. In addition, as the colour red represents auspiciousness and good fortune, it is believed that wearing red and having red decorations in peoples’ houses will bring about great fortune.

Several other superstitions followed by Taiwanese people during Lunar New Year are:

It is widely believed that if people do not settle any debts or grudges before Lunar New Year begins, they will have a year of poor wealth and luck in the year ahead. [9]

According to Feng shui, having a clean and uncluttered house allows energy to flow smoother, which will provide prosperity to the inhabitants. [9] It is also believed that by having a thorough cleansing of unwanted objects and the cleaning of the house, it will remove any bad luck and energy that have been accumulated over the past year. [10] In other words, major spring cleaning before the first day of Lunar New Year will provide people with a fresh and clean start to begin a new year.

Many Taiwanese people believe that plants provide live energy, and where there is live energy, there’s cleansing and circulation of good energy within the environment. And where there is a withering plant, there is stagnant and unlucky energy. [9]

As many believe that the tradition of staying up late on the day before Lunar New Year is to bless their parents with longevity, the superstition behind this practice stems from the legend of Nian attacking ancient Chinese villages. According to the legend, villagers would keep the streets and more importantly, their homes well-light in order to keep Nian away. [1] So, staying up late on the eve of Lunar New Year and keeping the lights on is now a customary practice to keep evil spirits out.

As Lunar New Year commences, it is believed that people are blessed with a fresh start to the new year, so if people were to throw out garbage on the first day of Lunar New Year, it would mean that they are throwing out the good fortune, luck, and energies [1] that the New Year brings them.

The Chinese character for hair (髮) has a similar pronunciation as the Chinese character for “prosper” (發). As such, it is frowned upon for people to wash their hair during the first day of Lunar New Year as it would be seen as washing their prosperity for the year away. [10]

The action of sweeping is believed to be synonymous with sweeping good fortune out of the house. [1]

With the exception of cooking, it is forbidden for people to use any sharp objects during the first few days of the Lunar New Year. Since knives, scissors, and other sharp objects are generally used to sever objects, using sharp objects during the first few days of the Lunar New Year is believed to sever any good luck the New Year would have brought.

As it is with other auspicious occasions, the usage of bad language and talk of death is considered taboo as many Taiwanese people believe that any talk of inauspicious events would curse the speaker with bad luck. [1]

As the Chinese word for fish (魚) is pronounced as “yu,” which has the same pronunciation as the Chinese word for “surplus” (餘), it is essential for people to eat fish during the New Year and other auspicious days as it would bring about good fortune and luck. [1] However, people are expected to purposely leave some portions like the tail or head of the fish at the end of their meals as this indicates that they will have a surplus or abundance of good fortune in the coming year.

Ghost Festival

In Chinese numerology, the number 7 is considered inauspicious when linked to the Ghost Festival, which begins on the fifteenth night of the seventh month. Several taboos are observed during this time. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cash coins in feng shui</span>

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In Singapore, the Chinese New Year is celebrated primarily by Chinese Singaporeans, or members of the Chinese diaspora located there, who make up over 75% of Singapore's population. The holiday is the start of a new year based on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. The majority of Chinese Singaporeans can trace their ancestry back to southern China, specifically Guangdong and Fujian. Outside of greater China, Singapore is the only country with an ethnic Chinese majority. The Chinese New Year is one of the gazetted public holidays in Singapore.

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