Double 10s! Winner! Pay the front line…

Sounds like a phrase you would here The Stick Man bellow after the die had been rolled and it didn’t “crap” out. This is what I thought when I heard the term for the National Holiday being celebrated. The Taiwanese people call this day Double Ten Day. The morning was greeted by a firework display and the pounding of large drums. To this point I have not been able to get a picture of the fireworks or huge drums. I believe they both are products housed in the temple directly to right of the school. I am allowed to go into the common area and look around, but this is as far as I am allowed to venture. I have no intention of converting to Buddhism and do not believe I could pull off the “Mormon Trick” from our college days. (Remember the Trick Gina?) Furthermore, the trick never really functioned the way it was intended.  We never made it past the gardens and guard station. We attempted to gain entrance to the temple numerous times and went as far as trying to convince the guard we simply left our Mormon ID cards back at school. He had a shrewd B.S. gauge and never granted us access to the inner temple. Why would one try so hard to gain access to a church, you ask? The Mormon “church”, and the term church is used informally, cloaks itself in a mystery wrapped up inside of an enigma. The simple act of concealment makes one wonder what they are trying to conceal. Then there are the whispered accounts of secret ceremonies laden with baby oil and debauchery floating around. The baby oil accounts solely were enough to spike my interest and fuel my yearning to demystify and/or prove the rumors, one way or another. The temples in Taiwan hold a similar, but severe, charm. I would never dare attempt the ID card bit while in the temples of this country. Culture is a complex affair. One always has a sense of uncertainty regarding what is considered offensive to people belonging to this culture. It is far better to err on the side of caution than to appear as the common visage of an “ignorant and boorish American”. That being said, the temples and what lurks deep inside their confines remain unknown, with diminutive optimism of unfurling said mysteries any time in the future. However, one can hear the drums and see the fireworks emanating from the temple. This sight and sound causes me to pause and imagine what their appearance would be like up close. One would have to convert to Buddhism to gain access to these sights, sadly. Apologies for the long diversion from the purpose of this post, Double Ten Day.

Double Ten Day is celebrated in Taiwan every October 10^th, ere-go the title Double Ten Day. The people of Taiwan celebrate this day because it is the anniversary of the Wuchang Uprising. This revolt led Wuchang, which is a province in China, to declare independence from the ruling influence of its central government, circa 1911. The Wuchang Uprising led to a full blown revolt, called the Xinhai Revolution, led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The revolution ended imperial rule in China by overthrowing China’s last emperor, Puyi. The citizens were angry over government corruption, I had never heard of governments being corrupt before now, and foreign countries trying to take over land in China. The overthrowing of the Qing Dynasty, which was the Puyi corrupt ruler guy’s Dynasty, ended more than 2,000 years of dynastic rule in China. It also ushered in what was known as the Republican Era. I am certain that the word republican here has separate meanings and does not compare to the United States’ description of the term. I cannot imagine a republican of Taiwan compelling money from “big tobacco” for “special considerations” and making advances on any entity displaying a pulse. I would imagine a totally different type of Taiwanese Republican and probably end up being correct. The Xinhai Revolution led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). This is the reason when sending care packages to the, starving for anything from home,  foreign teacher ROC needs to inscribed at the end of the school’s address here in Taiwan. Please note the subtle hint regarding care packages. All forms of care packages will be accepted. However, please refrain from sending items the foreign teacher doesn’t consider to be acceptable care package material. Such items include, but are not limited to: Spam (any variety), pickled pigs feet (for obvious reasons), anything prepared from processed meat parts, and so on. Thank you for your attention. J The Xinhai Revolution is remembered and celebrated as Double Ten Day (雙十節) in Taiwan. Double Ten Day is referred to as the Anniversary for the Wuchang Uprising in China and Hong Kong. I was finally brought up to speed, somewhat, by the same Science Teacher who “helped” with my Ivan problem. He told me Double Ten Day is much like our own 4^th of July, he said no more and no less. However, the first person I enquired about Double Ten Day was unable to answer my questions. I unequivocally believed she would be able to divine a solution or response to any inquiry relating to Taiwan, the country God Himself reposed in on the Seventh Day. But she sheepishly admitted she couldn’t recall why they celebrated the holiday, but was grateful for the day off. I decided Google was the way to go here. I discovered Double Ten Day is one of the few days the government of Taiwan allows their citizens to have a day free of work. On this special day the Taiwan Flag is raised at all local head government offices, i.e.: not the Post Office and National Health Insurance Office, and the National Anthem of Taiwan is sung. If the National Anthem of Taiwan sounds anything like the Happy Birthday Song, it has no less than five verses and is sung at full vocal volume. Oh and I can’t forget to mention the clapping accompanying the birthday song. Lots and lots of clapping, loud clapping, ear deafening clapping. I equate the birthday song in Taiwan in the following manner. The birthday song is the love child of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and The Wheels on The Bus songs. This would be the songlet, song baby for those wondering, these two vile disdainful songs would spawn. However, to gain full understanding of the instrumental clapping addition to the song, the song The YMCA would have to be the songlet’s grandfather. Now visualize Haaapppeeea Birrssdaya teua yoeua! I would forgo the “And Many More”, if it meant the Happy Birthday song would be retired to sunny Florida, where all the other tired Holiday Ramblers go when they reach their Golden, with a hint of rust, Years.      

My first Double Ten Day passed with sounds of fireworks and drums; immediately followed by the grading of 150 grammar books. Do you believe just because school wasn’t in session and it was a National Holiday the administration would put an injunction on work. Yea, and pigs might fly out of my posterior nether regions! Oh and Sandy Claws is the feline version of Santa Clause. Seriously, I read all about it on Facebook. It was the link right below Michael Jackson Lives and is resides in a trailer park somewhere in Arkansas and right above the link about the love child him and Britney Spears are expecting. Anyone want the address? Correcting and grading the grammar books was a necessity, because the next day of school was a half day. This meant only half the time to read and sign over 50 communication books. The day off had matured into a cruel jest meant to torture us with the farce of a day of rest. Happy Double Ten Day! J And God Bless America! Ooops not our Independence Day, sorry… ;)