Halloween weekend has started. Q: what does it have to do with Chinese culture? A: “Absolutely nothing!” Teachers at bǔxíbān / buushyiban 補習班 introduced this holiday to Taiwanese children and the idea has somehow caught on.
位於台北市士林區的天母地區已經開始過萬聖節。外國人可能很好奇，萬聖節跟中國傳統文化到底是什麼關係呢？答案是 『一點關係都沒有啊！』 這個節日是英語補習班的外籍老師介紹給台灣的小朋友，沒想到這個美國習俗居然流行起來了。
Halloween in Taiwan provides a good excuse for dressing up in cute costumes, a welcome break from the regimentation of Chinese schools, which focus on being obedient and getting the best grades possible on “important” subjects such as math and English. For decades, Taiwan’s 補習班 “cram schools” have been training obedient little robots to excel in these subjects. Halloween is a rare chance to relax and learn essential graveyard vocabulary such as bat, witch and ghost.
說穿了，天母的萬聖節只不過是提供小朋友一個放鬆的機會，根本沒有什麼宗教含義，所以虔誠的基督徒大可不必擔心什麼魔鬼啦、巫婆啦，對小朋友來說那些純粹是好玩而已。小孩畢竟需要偶爾打扮一下，不要老是那麼認真讀書、考試、時時刻刻聽大人的話！
Religious westerners sometimes get upset at people celebrating this dark holiday, but I don’t see it as a serious issue. Really gruesome costumes (bloody zombies and the like) are not that popular. Kids in Tianmu like to dress up as cartoon characters or super heroes, which is perfectly innocent. On whatever weekend is closest to Halloween, you will see parents, uncles and aunties accompanying their beloved children to participating stores in Tianmu, where they can receive some candy.
天母的小孩子天真無邪，他們喜歡打扮成卡通人物或超人之類的英雄。接近萬聖節的周末有許多父母、叔叔、阿姨陪伴心愛的小朋友到天母的商店高高興興地領到糖果。
In Chinese, Halloween is called 萬聖節 wànshèngjié / wannshenqjye “[literally] ten-thousand saints festival”. This is actually the Chinese translation of All [= 10,000] Saints’ Day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day#In_Western_Europe,_the_Americas_and_the_Philippines
諸聖節 https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E8%AB%B8%E8%81%96%E7%AF%80
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Hallows%27_Eve#History
萬聖夜 https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E4%B8%87%E5%9C%A3%E5%A4%9C
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick-or-treating
[No Chinese available]
Halloween in Tianmu
Taiwan Halloween: Young Kids' Holiday, Part 1 天母的萬聖節
https://steemit.com/cn/@wentong-syhhae/taiwan-halloween-young-kids-holiday
Taiwan Halloween: Young Kids' Holiday, Part 2 天母的萬聖節: 續集
https://steemit.com/cn/@wentong-syhhae/taiwan-halloween-young-kids-holiday-part-2
Taiwan Halloween, 2017 (Part 3): Youtube Video 天母的萬聖節: 人山人海，車水馬龍！
[市長也來湊熱鬧! Ko Wenje (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Wen-je), the extremely popular mayor of Taipei (as well as a famous transplant surgeon), dressed up as a magician]
https://steemit.com/cn/@wentong-syhhae/taiwan-halloween-2017-part-3-youtube-video
About Me
文通四海 Enthusiastic INTP Polyglot
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@wentong-syhhae/enthusiastic-intp-polyglot