Taipei on Christmas, 2011

Jingle bells in the Far East

Today I went out to Taipei's popular East District to see a movie. It happend to be on the Christmas eve and I decided to take some photos. Taipei is not very different during Christmas, especially because it falls on a weekend, where people go out to 走走 (dzǒudzǒu) or walk around. This time they dzǒudzǒued a little more, so it seemed, because the pedestrian area near Taipei 101 was so crowded like I've rarely seen before. Maybe some of these people just got the annual bonus and want to splurge on shopping? I don't know. It was a little Christmasy, but very commercialized. Basically similar to what we see in most of central Europe: Just minus the food stalls and freezing cold weather. I made some photos for you, but the best part is the video at the very end, which is compiled of several clips, that I've made today. Enjoy!

Not like the stalls I saw in Germany, but still ok.

Oh yeah, did I mention that there was a lot of people?

A whole lot of people!

Taipei 101 seen through the decoration.

Street performers taking photos with young fans.

When the night fell, people were leaving home.

But some were just coming!

My video will show you the Christmas atmosphere in Taipei.

Taiwanese are mostly not Christian, but Taoist, Buddhist, both or not really religions. Christmas is like Halloween, something interesting from the West, that is another reason to have fun. Taiwanese love celebrations, so it doesn't need too long, before you'll see cute girls and their friends with Santa caps or antlers posing for a photo with the v-sign and a wide smile. Xinyi these days is packed with people and I think it will become even crazier in 5 days. The famous Taipei 101 countdown to 2012 will be held here. And then there is Chinese new year... Phew. The festive season just started in Taiwan. Merry Christmas, everybody!

[My TAIPEI page][My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][All photos by MKL, 2011]