Well, I been reminded about 7 times already that this saturday is Taiwan’s valentines day equivalent.
So if you got plans, share them.
The name “chinese valentine” gives me ulcers everytime I hear it. If it’s really the chinese equivalent, I very much doubt that’s the proper name. It would probably be “dragon’s heart day” or “the old man in the moon with red ribbons day”, or something like that. So it leads me to believe this is but a commercial plot. In catholic countries, Valentine’s day (the proper one, on february 14th) it is seldom celebrated, at least officially (but the malls and department stores make a fuss anyways). In Catalonia, the day in which we show our love for our significant others is St. George’s day, may 23rd (and even here, I try to keep the tradition alive, giving the traditional roses for that day to my wife).
Of course, in Taiwan, they celebrate everything they are aware of, and if they don’t have a festivity, they import it, just to make people forget their mostly horrible day-to-day routine and have them spending money instead.
That said, this next saturday also happens to be my “family day off”, so I’ll meet with my friends, play games for a little bit, then go to a movie. If my wife can make it to the movie, great. If not, well, that’s a pity.
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Oh, it’s a genuine festival - Qixi Festival. You’re right that the name “Chinese Valentine’s Day” is awful, but, for now at least, that’s the English name it’s stuck with - and as best I can tell, the way it’s now celebrated here is largely mimicking North American Valentine’s Day. (As is Christmas!)
Taiwanese people don’t know how to pinyin + Taiwanese people undervalue their own culture = Taiwanese people choose a vaguely similar Western tradition and append the word “Chinese” in front of it.
This happens all the time with food (Taiwanese meatballs!), cultural activities (Taiwanese hand puppets!) and even religious matters (gong, si, ci, miao, dian? Nah, let’s just call them all temples! Baibaiing while not actually asking the gods for anything? Sure we’ll call that praying!)
Oh, it’s a genuine festival - Qixi Festival. You’re right that the name “Chinese Valentine’s Day” is awful, but, for now at least, that’s the English name it’s stuck with - and as best I can tell, the way it’s now celebrated here is largely mimicking North American Valentine’s Day. (As is Christmas!)[/quote]
Thanks for the info! 
[quote=“Hokwongwei”]Taiwanese people don’t know how to pinyin + Taiwanese people undervalue their own culture = Taiwanese people choose a vaguely similar Western tradition and append the word “Chinese” in front of it.
This happens all the time with food (Taiwanese meatballs!), cultural activities (Taiwanese hand puppets!) and even religious matters (gong, si, ci, miao, dian? Nah, let’s just call them all temples! Baibaiing while not actually asking the gods for anything? Sure we’ll call that praying!)[/quote]
Well, my daughter learned how to say baibai before learning to say zaijian or adiós or adéu. Everyone at the house speaks to her in chinese, and I speak to her in catalan, and my wife and me speak spanish to each other. Having her learn how to say goodbye in a language no one speaks at home is, simply put, sad. I guess they began saying simply baibai because “taiwanese bye-bye” was too long.
Actually, is there a different “English” name for Qixi Festival is in China? I’ve told my university students a bunch of times that I really don’t like terms like “Chinese Zodiac” or “Chinese Valentine’s Day”, but I don’t have good alternatives for those two. It’s easy with “egg pancake” or “dumpling” - I just tell them to use danbing or guotie or shuijiao with a parenthetical explanation.
I’ve noticed James Fallows will often use the term “Spring Festival”, for example, rather than “Chinese New Year”, but I’ve got less of an issue with the label Chinese New Year. It doesn’t sound as much like “Hey, the westerners have this, so let’s copy it!”, which of course isn’t what’s happening.
EDIT: Oh, more knowledge about baibai: that’s actually (partly - I’m out of my depth here) the money-burning ritual you see roughly twice a month on the streets. You know, when you’re walking along and suddenly there’s a bonfire in a burner in front of you?
Somewhat surprisingly, one of the better explanations of this I found with a VERY cursory Google search is all about how Christians should pray to save the misled souls of Taiwan: peacealongthejourney.com/2010/08 … ost-month/
I’m sure there are much better explanations out there, but that one … is interesting.
Baibai-ing also refers to shaking incense at a temple. Obviously, it’s quite different from prayer, at any rate.
Spring Festival is just fine for China, but in Taiwan, few people actually call it chunjie while most prefer guonian, so I think “Chinese New Year” is also just fine.
Here are a few other things to ponder on: Daoist immortals (xianren and xiannü) are often called “fairies” instead of fairies, which they are not at all. Shen are called gods (compare to Japanese kami which is almost never translated as god). Taijian are called “eunuchs,” even though their lack of junk is just a part of their identity. In all of these cases, I think pinyin is more appropriate than faux-equivalencies.
But to bring this thread back on topic: Chocolates. I’m going to get a box of See’s or Godiva chocolates for her.
Why is it misleading to call shen / kami “gods”? What would you say are the salient differences? As for “fairies”–sure, if you’re thinking of Tinker-belle, but earlier fairies were dangerous and unknowable, like the alien contact lore of today.
On the Valentines Day issue, the Mrs. only makes me remember the regular one–not the Japanese one a month later, and this one is not really a gift-giving occasion.
The motivations of the media are not hard to identify. Spending on regular Valentines Day is like, five times above that of Mothers Day, let alone lesser holidays. If merchants can double or triple the number of required gift-giving occasions, then money money money.
Thanks for staying on topic… really.
Oh, well, my plan? Same as every year. Feign cultural ignorance. She’s out all day and evening so problem solved. (Is it wrong to call such occasions “problems”?)
I’ll also make strategic use of a couple of Neil Gaiman books I was planning to give her anyway, assuming I can find Chinese translations in eslite today: I just read Ocean at the End of the Lane myself, and loved it; and she really enjoyed the Stardust film, so I hope she’ll enjoy the book as well. (I haven’t read that one yet.)
I think books are a great present.
holy crap it’s tomorrow
What have you done, what do you plan to do, what really works best?
I usually go crazy on the western February Valentine’s Day. I’m thinking I need to do something now.
Only two days away.
buy your significant other some ghost money for the upcoming month, thus killing 2 birds with one stone.
I’m not gonna do a thing. I just bought the gf a damn present for the proper Valentines day. That seemed only yesterday. Forget this bullshit Chinese knock off version. Is there a Chinese version of Christmas too that I’m not aware of?
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and she better have damn well liked your present, dammit!!
I suspect the Chinese one is older: it dates from the Han Dynasty; the European one from the Middle Ages, at least as a romantic occasion.
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Talking with some girls tonight in the group. One said she has plans, a couple say they would like plans, and couple said they didn’t even know it was valentines day.
So from that informal survey, it seems that Chinese valentine’s day is not a big deal in Taiwan. Any other perspectives?
I guess it really only depends on the expectations of the one, or ones, your with.
None of the women I’ve gone out with (large sample size) made a big deal out of Chinese Valentine’s Day.