teacher's day

Today is Teacher's Day in Taiwan.  And, like so many holidays in so many cultures, Teacher's Day in Taiwan is a mix of both the religious and secular.

To many Taiwanese, Teacher's Day is a day to show respect to their teachers and to thank them for all their hard work (I like that). 

Nonetheless, as Wikipedia correctly points out, "This date was chosen to commemorate the birth of Confucius, believed to be the model master educator in ancient China."  At the crack of dawn in Confucian temples all over the island cermonies take place in honor of Confucius.  These 祭孔大典 (or "Grand Ceremonies Dedicated to Confucius") start with the beating of drums. "54 musicians dress in robes with blue belts, 36 (or 64) dancers dress in yellow with green belts. They are led and followed by cermonial officers. Three animals--the cow, the goat, and the pig--are sacrificed. The hair plucked from these sacrificed animals are called the Hairs of Wisdom."

So, now you know some students simply give their teachers cards which say "Happy Teacher's Day," but others go to temples and make sacrifices to a dead man.

(Pictures above come from this and this photoset on flickr.)