Taiwan Trivia Episode 2
How red is your underwear?
Hey!
Did you ever feel that life is difficult?
Did you ever feel so challenged that you wished for a different fate?
But what exactly can you do to turn your luck around?
In Taiwan, people are very passionate about ¡§Kai-Yun,¡¨
which means praying for good luck and avoiding bad fortune in our daily lives.
If you are someone who believes in fate,
in Taiwan, there is something called Auspicious dates.
If you do certain things at a certain time,
it will change your life for the better.
For example:
If Taiwanese people wish for a year of good fortune,
They would fight to be the first one to rush into a temple on the morning of Chinese New Year¡¦s Day
OH! He¡¦s put the first incense into the burner.
If they think they don¡¦t have enough money,
they will borrow money from the God of Wealth or Cai Shen
because they believe that spending the money of the gods will bring even more prosperity in the future.
When they are hungry, they will eat food with different colors and food with rounded shape or a lot of stuffing to summon good fortune.
What about marriage? If Taiwanese people can¡¦t find a good match, their parents will take their children to Yue Lao or God of Marriage.
They will ask for a red string or buy peach blossoms to try and find their better half.
If someone is ill, they will take the clothes of the patient and go around the incense burner three times.
They will light the candles before the Gods, and wear a kind of herb called Le-goo-mi-nu-si to pray for safety.
If they wish for luck, some Taiwanese even take baths at night using flower petals and leaves.
Some people would even wear red underwear or put lucky charms next to the bed for good luck.
Do you think this is too superstitious?
In fact, for a lot of Taiwanese people, they would be restless if they didn¡¦t do it!
The religious belief in Taiwan is influenced by many countries.
Their ancestors are mostly immigrants arriving through dangerous waters.
Due to the hardships and uncertainty they face, most believe that besides hard work,
praying for good fortune and avoiding evil is the key to a fulfilled life.
The Taiwanese value of life is a combination of religion, customs, Feng-Shui, the five elements, and Chinese astrology.
So when students are about to take a big test, most parents will take them to the temple for prayers instead of encouraging them.
Parents: ¡§prayers bring blessings.¡¨
The Taiwanese people believe that man proposes, God disposes.
In other words, they believe that there will be order from the spiritual world.
This belief is different from the mindset of the West: Where there¡¦s a will, there is a way.
Taiwanese people are not as confident. Apart from self-motivated diligence, they entrust their success to the care of the gods.
So naturally, when the gods don¡¦t bring good results, they will become furious!
Nevertheless, in this island where people elevate spiritual fortune,
you will find that many religions coexist peacefully along with their abundant varieties of customs.
You can even buy a Kai-yun lucky red underwear in a 24/7 convenience store.
Next time you visit Taiwan, why don¡¦t you bring some good fortune home as well?
This video is brought to you by Taiwan Trivia¡K.
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To bring good fortune to our dear viewers, we have already prayed for blessing from the Goddess Mazu.