Teachers Day

Teacher’s Day in Taiwan is on September 28, which is Confucius’ birthday.On that day, every student will send a Happy Teacher’s Day card or gifts to their teachers. There also will be celebrations in every Confucius’ temple. The ceremonies start early in the morning at these temples.

The most impressive part of the ceremonies is the dances and the pulling out of the hair of cattle. People pull out the hair of the cattle, which is one of the sacrificial items. The hair symbolizes wisdom, so many students will fight for it because they believe that the hair will bless them, helping them to get a good grade on their tests or perform outstanding acts in school.

The dance is called Ba Yi Dance. It is a music dance in square in the ancient time. It is used as part of the memorial ceremony for ancestors. There are two different kinds of dance, one is made by six rows with six people in each row, and the other is made by eight rows with eight people in each row. The first dance is for the dukes and the barons, and the latter is for the emperors. Some people think the dance of sixty-four people is too luxurious for Confucius, but other people think the achievement of Confucius is greater than that of the emperor, so this is what Confucius should deserve. There is still no conclusion on the matter, so it depends on the size of the dance area.

The dance area is called “Dan Ch’ih”, which in Chinese means red stage. The stage is mostly made of stone, and a red carpet is put on it when there is a ceremony for Confucius’ birthday. The dancers of Dan Ch’ih are usually boys from elementary school. They dress in yellow costumes and hold Yueh and Zhai in their hands. They hold Yueh in the left hand and Zhai in the right hand. Yueh is made of bamboo pipe and it is two meters long. It is painted red on the outside and three holes are drilled into it so that it can be used as a musical instrument. Zhai’s shape is like a wooden handle. The top is carved with a dragonhead, and the mouth of the dragon is holding a pheasant’s tail. Today it has been changed to three pheasant’s tail because it looks better.