Awakening the Ghosties

First of all I would like to begin this post by saying we officially have internet in our home! YAY!
So, that being said, we will be updating this much more frequently...

August 15th was the first day of Ghost Month in Taiwan (what?! the 15th...they go by the lunar calendar so things are a little different, plus, technically it is 1997 in Taiwan right now...but that is a different story). What is Ghost Month you ask? Well, a brief definition is that on August 15th, the door leading to and from Hell is opened for 30 days. What does this mean? That would be difficult to summarize here, but basically it is a deeply spiritual (and to some troubling) time when the people practice very specific religious activities.

We began the day walking from school during lunch to buy some tea. We noticed several large tables in front of local restaurant covered in food and a large bin full of burning paper--that is money that is specially made to burn for these occasions. This was something I had witnessed before (during my prior time in Taiwan), but as I was older this time things started to solidify a bit more. The food is an offering to the wandering spirits to bring that place fortune, and/or to protect them from evil spirits. The money is burned so it can be spent by those in the afterlife who need it.

We heard rumors of a parade of some sort in Hsinchu that night and decided to go see what was happening. I can truly tell you we had no idea what we were about to witness. We found out later that Hsinchu is home to some of the oldest temples in Taiwan and these sacred places hum with activity during holidays. This one was no exception.

We found ourselves in the middle of a main street that had been shut down. Police were keeping vehicles off it and so we had to make our way on foot.

It was slow going as the street was literally packed with people. We pushed our way through to the lighted temple above. There was loud music, firecrackers and a parade of some sort. We pushed our way forward and caught glimpses (but sadly no pictures) of men painted in black and white dancing in front of the temple. They were followed by an entourage of people carrying wreaths, signs and one truck full of people playing instruments.

We saw various presentations before the temple ranging from a group of men playing some incredible drum routine, to a large idol (Note: the term idol is being used loosely. We're not exactly sure what it was) being carried and bowed to the temple.
The picture is dark but you get the idea.

We were getting antsy from all the people so we decided to leave when suddenly the people began to yell something that sounded like, "Guan-Yi!" and began to press toward the temple. There was a strange feel in the air like something big was going to happen so we followed them. We managed to be pushed toward the front where I caught a glimpse of some men pouring out boxes and boxes of firecrackers on the ground in front of the temple. It was honestly frightening at how many they stacked on the ground. It was at least 2 feet tall by 3 feet wide. Next came the men with the trumpets who blew them as others brought the idol (again, this term is being used loosely) and placed it over the pile of explosives. With the people crowding around and the six men hoisting the huge idol they lit the fuse to the pile of firecrackers and, well...it was loud.

We were covered with ash, debris and whatever else that went flying. Here is a picture of one down the street:
We had to cover our eyes, ears and mouths from the explosion so I didn't get a picture until right after...
That is the ash on my camera and the smoke in the air.

But the people began to chant again and this time we were pushed to the very front. The men began pouring the firecrackers, again. Katie and I watched in fascination mixed with fear as it was nearly 3 feet high.

Several men came in carrying a large idol covered in wood. They proceeded to light the wood on fire and then all the firecrackers. We were at best 20 feet away. You knew it was going to be crazy when every one backed away and ducked. We heard the trumpets blast and we ducked...

The firecrackers exploded sending, ash, debris and fire everywhere. The men held their ground and then offered the burnt idol to the temple:



They had to run off quick because the ground was on fire.

Katie and I left that night with our ears ringing, covered in ash, soot and amazed at what we had experienced.