TABOOS

I have been leaving here for almost 4 months now and, during this period of time, I got to know some of the major taboos of this country.

For example, when I went to a restaurant during the first week here in Taichung a friend told me that, when eating soup noodles, we don’t have to cut them because cutting noodles symbolizes cutting your life, so it basically means “death”, and you don’t have to put your chopsticks vertically in the bowl of rice because it resembles the ritual of incense-burning which also reminds to death.

Another taboo is about the month of July because this is known as “the Ghost Month”: it is thought that, during this period, ghosts would come to Earth and it is better for Taiwanese people to avoid travels, weddings, surgeries and taking pictures after dark. Food and incense are offered to the spirits to avoid them visiting homes and spirit paper money is also burnt and offered to them.

It is better not to use a red pen when writing someone’s name because this color represents blood; writing someone’s name with a red pen may bring this person to a serious accident.

Another thing I noticed is that for Chinese and Taiwanese people the number 4 is seen as a number of bad luck; this is why, in many hotels and hospitals, the fourth floor doesn’t exist.