After writing yesterday’s memory, I just wanted to encourage those of you who are in the midst of extend singleness and longing to get married to consider asking close friends and family for help.
Let them know of your desires to be married, let them pray with you and for you, and let them keep their eyes open too.
The most likely way to find a future marriage partner is through an introduction by family, friends or acquaintances. Despite the romantic notion that people meet and fall in love through chance or fate, the evidence suggests that social networks are important in bringing together individuals of similar interests and backgrounds, especially when it comes to selecting a marriage partner. According to a large-scale national survey of sexuality, almost 60 percent of married people were introduced by family, friends, co-workers or other acquaintances.
I know I didn’t ask and wouldn’t have asked anyone and everyone to help me find a husband. But, if you have godly friends who love you and love the Lord, ask for help. It is not shameful to get help in finding a husband or wife. And, if that is the way God chooses to bring a marriage partner into your life . . . it will be an amazing blessing to both you and to them!
Candice Waters has this to say about giving others criteria for what you are looking for when asking others to “be on the look out for you” as you search for a marriage partner:
. . . the point is that having someone ask questions on your behalf ahead of time can go a long way to saving you embarrassment, guarding your heart and protecting your time.
It’s a concept similar to the pre-screening efforts used in business settings — especially employment placement. It’s simply a matter of helping someone who wants to help you have a better sense of what’s really helpful. Rather than mumbling “ah, great,” when someone says, “I have the perfect person in mind for you!” — especially if that person doesn’t know you that well, or you them — you can feel confident letting them know more about what your hopes are.
If they really want to help you, ask if you can give them more detail — a better sense of what God is revealing to you to look for in a mate. If they’re on board, be willing to let them know what your “must-haves” are (e.g., must be a believer), down to your “nice to haves” (likes to play board games, etc.). Friends and family members who have this kind of information will be empowered to “pre-screen” any potential candidates for you. You’ll be helping them move from good intentions to being an informed advocate.
It’s also a way to remove any sense of obligation you’re tempted to feel when friends and family share leads. What you need are opportunities, not more dead ends. Once they have an objective standard to go by, they can help discern if “good leads” really are.
With some well-informed help from your advisers, and a lot of bold prayer, you’ll be a lot closer to marrying well. . .
We typically sent in the front, so when we sat in the back (yes, there are only five pews and three rows) I noticed something unusual for Taiwan–lots of men. More men than women in fact on this particular Sunday.
Lord, bring more Taiwanese MEN unto Yourself!!! Raise them up as leaders of their families and of this nation. Lord, please let what was true for the jailer Acts 16:33-34 be true for men throughout Taiwan "he was baptized at once, he and all his family. . . . And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God."
First, we signed the guest book and gave the people at the table our wedding gift (a red envelope with cash inside). They immediately record the names on the red envelope and the amount of the gift. In modern Taiwanese culture, the majority of the money given at the wedding goes towards paying for the banquet.
And the banquet room was really festive with balloons everywhere!
After the guests had found their tables and sat down, the bridal party and bride and groom entered the banquet hall. The flower children came in after the groomsman and maid of honor, the only thing that indicates that they are there is that someone had tied helium balloons to their wrists. (The man speaking the Chinese . . . that's my hubby, he was the MC of the banquet.)
Thanking all the guests for coming by toasting from the font stage.
Since I didn't get many photos of the food from our banquet, I made sure to get a photo of EVERY SINGLE dish taken at their wedding as well as some of the drinks.
There were around 25 tables.
Here's the view of our table.
After a few dishes . . .bride and groom enter again, this time with the bride in a new dress.
Games and tricks on brides and grooms is a HUGE part of most wedding banquets. This very private couple didn't want to be embarrassed. So, Lawrance and I came up with a game for the new couple to play. He asked them questions such as "who fell in love first" and "who will hold the remote control to the TV." Then they decided who and held up a photo of the one they thought was the answer.
Their "punishment" for not agreeing with each other was for MeiShiang to find (with her hands only, eyes closed) some black file clips that Lawrance had hid on GouJong–one for every question "wrong."
They also had the really sweet idea to "reward" their guests with a "lucky draw." They asked their guests to leave words of blessings on little cards and then drew out 30 of the blessings to read aloud during the banquet. Those whose blessings were read aloud were given homemade mango pudding as a reward.
They then went table to table toasting their guests ten at a time.
After the toasting, they disappeared for awhile and came back with the bride in dress number three and ready to give away the bride's bouquet.
They had a really unique way of giving away the bouquet. They called all their single friends–male and female–up to the front by name. Then handed each one a red string. One of the red strings was attached to the bouquet. The one with the lucky attached string got to keep the bouquet. The rest went home with consolatory chopsticks.
After the banquet, they stood at the door and "song ke." They passed out roses (the first time I'd seen that) and candy as they said goodbye and thanks for coming to their guests. And of course took time to take photos with their guests too. :)
This past weekend, Lawrance and I had the privilege to attend our first Taiwanese couple wedding as a married couple. (We attended a wedding in Taiwan earlier this year . . . but both the bride and groom were American.)
It was a sheer joy to watch these two friends–both believers–commit
to living life together forever.
The elder who helped them with their
vows so totally STRESSED that this was a forever thing. He even made
them take 10 seconds to reconsider their desire to marry and gave them a chance to back out
guilt free if they wanted to.
Because the churches here are small and because the wedding party is usually just one best man and one bridesmaid (in white too), usually the groom comes down the center aisle before the bride. So . . . here comes the groom . . .
and the bride too . . .
Lawrance was able to get the cute flower girl to smile for the camera.
They repeated their vows together at the same time both facing forward. I'm glad they got to say vows at all though . . . because many times Taiwanese weddings have no spoken vows.
Ok, so actually it was written on what is called a website . . . but still I was trying to make it like a blog before blogging platforms were abundantly everywhere.
Ten years ago, in a school's computer room somewhere in northern Taiwan, I became a blogger, and I didn't even know it!
To get my printed photos online, I began using using a scanner in Chinese and yahoo's geocities to record my daily life here in Taiwan. The photo quality is terrible . . . and the layout was tedious, but, if I do say so myself, the design was better than many "homemade" websites from the late '90s.
But OH! if I had had flickr and blogger back then, not to mention a digital camera . . . how sweet that would have been!!!!
In fact, I carried my mom's 35mm film camera in my purse daily for a year. Soon after that I got my first digital camera, and so for nearly 10 years now my purse has always housed a point and shoot camera. It is essential–more important than lipgloss and a driver's licence!
Anyway, Geocities is closing later this year, which made me want to take a walk down memory lane. Feel free to click through and see what life was like for me as an exchange student in Taiwan in 1999.
Here was my very first "blog." (nothing is there now besides the "first blog," which I didn't even know was a blog at the time.)
I had an index/home page (which originally was set up kinda of like flickr's sets page), that I changed when I started using another site and then changed again when I moved to blogging.
Based on these "album" names, can you guess what I called that very first site?
That's right "amanda in taiwan." And, yes, my love for not using capital letters in my online world titles started with this very site . . . ten years ago!! (Can you tell I'm having a hard time accepting it was a decade ago that all this happened!?!?!)
Bye-bye, my dear first online home. Rest in peace.
In life, we need friends. But, we need different kinds of friends.
From Paul's life, we can see some of the different kinds of friendships
we need. I think we need in life:
a Barnabas,
a Paul,
a Timothy,*
and other companions too.
Paul and Barnabas were close friends. Barnabas helped Paul get started in the ministry (Acts 11:19-26). After that, their names are mentioned together as a pair twenty times
in just a few chapters of Acts: Paul and Barnabas, Barnabas and Paul.
These two spent quite a bit of time together preaching the Good News;
they were co-workers in ministry. Paul and Barnabas also had the
freedom to "disagree strongly" with each other (Acts 15:36-40).
We all need friends who we can accomplish like-mind goals with, people
who will be there with us and have the same vision and heartbeat that
we do, but who are not afraid to challange us and hold us accountable
to truth.
In addition to needing friends to walk along side us, we need friends who can mentor us and friends who we can mentor. In 1 Timothy 2:1,
Paul calls Timothy his "true child in the faith." It is obvious in his
letters to Timothy that Paul is teaching and guiding Timothy, taking
him under his proverbial wing. I have always treasured the "Pauls" in
my life, older women who have walked the path before me who can help me
to follow it. Likewise, I am able to help others who are just now walking along parts of the path I've already tread. It is important that we have mentors in our
life and that we mentor others as well.
I often tend to picture Paul "out there" on his own trailblazing and
spreading the gospel alone. But that is not an accurate picture. Paul
had other companions, male–Titus, Silas, Luke, Mark, Apollos,
Epaphroditus, Aquila–and female–Pricillia, Phoebe, Lydia, Euodia, and
Syntyche–just to name a few of his brothers and sisters in the Lord.
In Paul's letters to the various churches, he mentions some by name
sending greetings or thanking them for help sent. Paul clearly had many
friends who he lived in close communion with and considered beloved.
Like Paul, we too need others. We need to be supported and helped. We need companionship and fellowship. Friendships and friends in all shapes and
sizes are needed!
We may be walking an unknown path, but we do not walk it alone–praise the Lord!
*This idea is not originally mine. I once heard a speaker in
college talk about finding in our lives a Paul, a Barnabas, and a
Timothy. His idea of types of friends to seek out has never left me.
So, right after the ceremony, we headed over to a large Chinese restaurant for the wedding banquet.
Law's parents picked out the restaurant, but we were pleasantly surprised that they had chosen a restaurant that was own by a Christan. Very cool!!
Here are some of the banquet highlights:
Before the whole thing started we (the bridal party) were ushered into a little room for a small rest. This was very nice.
We were then introduced and entered the banquet hall.
There were 27 tables at our wedding, which means 270 people. (Ten people per table is the traditional standard. You tell others how many were at your wedding by telling them how many tables there were.)
270 people at a wedding banquet is not considered a large wedding. Small to medium at best. I've been to one with 100 tables–that's 1000 people!!
Also, just FYI, only about 80 people attended both the church ceremony and the wedding banquet. Many just showed up for the banquet, some were only able to attend the ceremony only, and students were invited to ceremony only. So, less than a third of the people at the banquet had been at the ceremony.
After the formal introduction, we sat at the head table at the front with parents, and uncles (and their wives).
After the first dish or so was served, we went "on stage" with his parents
and my best friend's father, Lin BaBa, who stood in as my "Taiwan
father." (I love how the two dads seems as if they are standing at attention.)
We toasted everyone (using cranberry juice, interesting to me since in the States we probably would have used grape juice).
Law and I then did the "couple entwined armed" toast together. :)
After a few more dishes, we sang a Karaoke song together. The only love song I know in Chinese is "The Moon Represents My Heart," so that is what we sang! :)
Then he had to "wei wa" wine. "wei" means to feed someone
something–kinda like a mother bird feeds her baby chicks (and "wa" means "me"). SO . . . he first had to put the wine into his mouth and then
"pour" it into mine. All I could think about was "don't you dare get any
on my dress!" :)
Soon after that the two of us toasted the main family table–parents and uncles.
Next, his parents, Lin Baba (my adopted Taiwanese dad), and Big Uncle joined us as we toasted each table. Waitresses guided us through the entire room, and followed us making sure we all had full glasses.
There were several other Karaoke songs sung.
Law's parents decided on all the dishes that were served. There was a lot of seafood. I ate little, and appreciate the photos people took of the meal since I didn't get to see it all.
When Law's brother and his girlfriend wanted to sing a song, Law "punked" them by making them kiss for a long time. They "punked" him back by making us show him how . . . so we kissed for 9 seconds–the whole room helped keep count. "9" in Chinese is pronounced "joe" which is the same pronuncation of "long."
After a bit more eating and Karaoke, we stood at the door kinda like a receiving line, passing out candy and photos to our guests.
Some of our good friends stayed a bit longer, and so we took a few more photos together.
Traditionally family photos are taken after weddings in Taiwan. Traditionally the bride and groom sit down front and center, and the most important people in the family then sit beside them. With others filling in behind.
They usually look something like this:
or like this:
At the church weddings I've been to here in Taiwan. After the family photos there is then time for photos with different groups of classmates and friends. Bride and groom stay put, guests fill in the spaces and photos are taken.
For a plethora of reasons (namely we are fun-loving Lawrance and Amanda, our photograph liked to have fun, and we were a bit rushed for time) our group photo shots are a bit more . . . um . . . well . . . "lively" than your typical Taiwanese wedding. :)
See for yourself in another slideshow from Abu's photos below:
Here is another slideshow of Abu's photos; this time from the ceremony.
Here are some of the highlights:
Before the ceremony started, Lawrance lowered my veil.
Seating of the family included his maternal grandmother, "big uncle" and aunt, and his mom
His dad walked me down the aisle.
We had two missionary friends officiate–Mike (from America) and Jonathan (from Malaysia)
I choose to walk 7 circles around Lawrance at the beginning of the ceremony (a Jewish tradition symbolizing that, as his wife, my life revolves around his)
Then, he rolled the veil (again, I wanted to see during the 2 hour ceremony, but I knew the veil was important to him)
During the charge to the couple, Mike shared the Gospel clearly and succinctly using a wedding as an analogy. It was GREAT!!
We also washed each others feet (symbolizing servant leadership and mutual submission)
We used the same vows, but this time we each only used our own heart language
Lawrance sang a solo to me right after our vows (it was great!!)
There were five different songs in the middle of the ceremony (so we sat down)
I cried again during the vows . . . but this time for different reasons. :)
I fell deeper in love with my husband as a direct result of celebrating our marriage in front of new witnesses. However, I did tell him that although I love him deeply, I will not marry him again. ;)
After we talked, trying to compare our two weddings, Lawrance and I concluded that it must be kind of like having two children and trying to choose which one you love the most . . . it is impossible.
Our Taiwanese Wedding ceremony and banquet was on Saturday! Today is Monday . . . I am still tired beyond all get out.
Our
rehearsal ran late, and the bridesmaids all stayed in my home for the
night . . . so we didn't get to bed till 1 or 2. Then we were back up
at 5 for make up and getting dressed.
Groom and groomsman arrived to pick us up at 8:20 (Taiwanese tradition), and it was RAINING!! :)
Before
the ceremony started we stood at the door and greeted our guests for
about 30 minutes or so. We had lots of people call or text to say they
weren't coming because of the rain. However, still so many of our friends and loved ones braved the rain to come celebrate with us. We were and are SO grateful!!
The
church ceremony was 2 hours long (I've been told that's about average for a Taiwanese church wedding). In addition to the vows, and charge, and unity ceremonies, it included seven songs that were song and two that were played by instruments (trumpet and flute), in addition to the bridal procession and recession. So, we had a mini-concert in the middle of our wedding. I was worried about it being too much and too long, but having our close friends and church family bless us with song was GREAT and made me cry.
Oh yeah . . . .and one of those songs was a solo from my hubby to me!!! It was SUCH a BEAUTIFUL SONG . . . and he sang it SO beautifully (if I do say so myself). Every time he practiced it, I cried, but at the actual wedding I made it through his song without crying.
After the ceremony, we took pictures with different guests for about 45 minutes (mostly students that wouldn't be attending the banquet). Then we
took off to the banquet–got there at 12:15 and most all of the guests
were already there. All the banquet activity started at about 12:30ish.
Then
for the next three hours there was loud karaoke and a huge feast. We
sang a song together in Mandarin (the only love song I know in Chinese). We toasted each table one by one. That's 27 tables and about 27,000 thank yous.
One
traditional thing that I did not do was change dresses three (or more) times. They
do this to "show off the beauty of the bride." They rent the dresses
from a wedding photo store, but since I had purchased my dress from
America, I didn't need to rent a wedding dress. So we choose to keep
things a bit more simple, and I just wore my own wedding dress the
entire banquet, which also means I actually got to eat and enjoy all
the karaoke. :)
After all the feasting and toasting and singing,
we stood by the door and said goodbye to our guests passing out candy
from special baskets–one was the basket his mom used at her wedding
and the other one was made by his grandfather many years ago.
We
must have literally taken over a thousand photos. But, so far we only have a few
that our friends have posted online. I'll share more as we have them.
That's it for now . . . .
All in all it was a GREAT day. . . . a long, exhausting day . . . but VERY wonderful too. :)
(I "stole" some of these photos from Sandy, who blogs here. Sorry and thanks, Sandy!!)
This was a totally random idea I thought up. I've since seen someone else do something very similar but in a much more elegant, professional way.
Anyway, what we did was . . . . we asked my cousin to go around to the different tables during the reception with a whiteboard and our digital camera. She asked our friends and family to write a message and then pose with the white board.
I am SO glad we did this. It was SO fun to look through the photos during our honeymoon. People said things on the white board they never would have on a traditional guest book.
Thanks Tiffany for blessing us in this way!!!
Below is a random order sampling of most of the photo blessings taken at our reception.
We both LOVE kids (I'm not sure why but Lawrance doesn't like to admit it, but by his actions it's clear he does). I think it is so important for children to have adult friends that love and care about them.
Anywho, we so enjoyed having children at our wedding. :) I couldn't have imagined it any other way! ___ Our three junior bridesmaids were such a joy, and oh so helpful. They were never very far away during the entire reception. What a blessing these three girls are!!
___ The little girls in blue and yellow have two younger brothers, they both totally adored Lawrance. And, Lawrance returned the love. You can also see in the background my cousin dancing with his daughter.
___ We also had an impromptu dance with the kids present to the song "Skid-a-ma-rink-a-dink-a-dink, I Love You" by the Go Fish Guys. The same primarily a cappella preschool group that we walked down the aisle to . . . Lawrance loves their music. Like I mentioned before, if you have preschoolers in the house, you have to check them out!
We had the reception at the same place where we got married, right next
to the old tree in a historic inn's reception hall. Most of the
floating tissue pompoms were made by Lawrance (we used these directions to make them).
__ The above photo was taken in the afternoon before the ceremony started. The one below was taken during the reception. I love all the twinkle lights!
__ Being announced for the first time . . . what a great memory. :)
Like I've mentioned before, we got married outside under a big tree. It was a gorgeous tree that is over 100 years old. All the pompom flowers you see hanging from the tree were made by Lawrance (well, I did a few to show him how, but then he did all the rest)–didn't he do a great job?
While Sam and Lawrance seated the grandparents and my mom, Fairest Lord Jesus was playing.
And, here is a moment I am SO glad was caught on film!! I love my mom!!!
Then Jerry–our dear friend and neighbor for many years, who also welcomed his home up to Lawrance while he was in Texas–opened the ceremony with prayer.
Then the boys–Lawrance and Sam–came in. My brother served as Lawrance's best man. He did such a great job. I loved looking over at him several times during the ceremony, sweat pouring off his face, but always getting a smile from him.
Then our junior bridesmaids and my sister, serving as the matron of honor walked in. The bridesmaids walked while "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" was playing.
These precious girls are from my home church. I used to take them to "little ladies lunch" after church when I was at home working on my master's degree. They would sit with me during the service, and are some of the beautiful young woman I am blessed to call my "little friends." God has graciously blessed me with "little friends" everywhere I go! Now, they are young woman . . . it was a treasure to have them be a part of our wedding.
Also my junior bridesmaids were a HUGE help! They carried my train while we took photos. They ran to get me some lip gloss in the middle of the reception. Anything I needed they were happy and willing to help with. One of my friends said that she wish she had had junior bridesmaids at her wedding because of just how wonderful a help they were to me.
An important thing to do while in Texas: ride a horse.
Some of our friends that we worship with (their two little girls are some of my “little friends” and will be junior bridesmaids in our wedding) own and board horses. So, we made a deal–let us babysit your kids so yall can go on a date and in return let us ride your horses.
It was wonderful. We loved the horse riding and the babysitting too. :) Lawrance had difficulty getting on the hose, and I had trouble getting off. Needless to say there was lots of laughter going on all night.
I mentioned awhile back my birthday ended on a sweet note. Well . . . here is the sweet note:
I was given birthday flowers. Aren't they beautiful!?!?!
The rose buds kept opening up all week long. It was so neat. And, those little "firecracker flowers" (as Ashley called them) were so fun. I'd never seen anything like them. Anyone know what they really are called in English?
One of the benefits of having 8 hours of class on my birthday is that over 140 people sang happy birthday to me!
And . . . three of my classes surprised me with cakes!!
The first class actually used another student from another class to tell me they were in an assembly in another building, and our class would be canceled and I was free to go home. I walked by their classroom before my class and it really was empty (little did I know they were hidding in the stairwell). I debated for a moment whether to trust them or not. I decided they were trustworthy.
I sent a text to one of the students and told her what I expected them to have completed by our next class. But, about 5 min into class time the three guys in the class came into my office and told me the assembly was over and they were ready for class. So, we all went back to the classroom. I was thinking about how amazing these kids were since they were willing to have class even though they actually had a free pass for the final hour of the day.
When we walked into the classroom, there was a party going on. :) (Can you see the numbers on the cake? That’s right . . . 18!!!)
___ They had transformed the chalkboard into a giant birthday card.
___ Another class came back from the break during the second hour of class with a cake . . . and so we had a party too! :)
___ Even though my last class wasn’t over till 9:00 and I didn’t get home till after 9:30, some special friends were waiting for at my neighbor’s home with pizza and cake to celebrate with me. I don’t have picture of that cake, but here I am with my neighbor and her daughters. (I don’t know if you can tell, but to me, I look SO TIRED.)
___ Then the following day, 15 minutes into class, some of the “absent students” came in carrying a cake and singing “Happy Birthday!” First thing one of them told me after singing was “you can’t count me tardy” (apparently, I’m known for being strict about that.)
___ Then later during the week of my birthday, a dear friend, Anna, stopped by with a beautiful little cake to help me celebrate my birthday. She had seen my blog on Monday and thought I needed some cheering up–isn’t that so sweet!!
___ So, if I had to be in school all day on my birthday, it was nice being surprised so many times! :) And, I also appreciate the others who through out the week made me feel special too. :)
Last Saturday, Karen and Christine, my little neighbor friends, came over to dye Easter eggs with me! It was their first time to do so (that they can remember).
Julie, a young lady I meet with for worship (photo on left), also joined us for egg dying creativity.
My friends are SO creative. Just look as some of the fun eggs they made!!
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
That same day also happened to be Christine’s 11th birthday!! So, I made her some birthday brownies and used some of the candles I’d brought from America. (Here birthday cakes only have candles with numbers.)
I’ve known Christine since she was only two years old. It’s been fun to watch her grow and change . . . she is so full of life and energy. I love being around her!!
This Sunday, some of my former students from my former school came to Tainan for a "graduation trip." They invited me to join them on their adventures around town. Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and is full of historic sites. If I have to live in the city, I’m glad it is a city with history. :)
Whenever I see people drinking out of bags, it always amazes me. Some of my students bought yellow colored sodas in bottles. The store owner poured their drinks into baggies for them, added staws and tied them off.
Here is a pic of the whole group that came up from Kaohsiung for the day, plus their teacher Kady (my good friend and fellow Tainan-person) and me.
And, one of the highlights of the afternoon . . . . holding a baby!!! Rio’s daugheters came with her on the outing, the oldest one (who is now two) has to be distracted in order to let me hold her or interact with her, but the younger one reached out for me as soon as I joined the group. Sigh . . . how sweet. Even though I’ve not blogged about them in a long time . . . yes, the mommylongings are still strong. :)
Julie, who serves on the same team as I do and is also a tentmaker, came to visit me this week. Even though our time together was short, it was wonderful to spend time talking and encouraging each other.
Our Father knows exactly what we need! Thank God for like-minded friends to fellowship with!! :)
This little guy wasn’t sure he wanted to enter the world. It was 9 days past his due date, and even after inducing labor he took 27 hours to decide it was time to enter the world. :)
In Taiwan, it is customary for moms to take a month long rest (作月子) after giving birth. She is confined to one room and does as little as possible–including not bathing (some wash their hair with rubbing alcohol and allow for sponge baths).
According to what I’ve been told, the new mom is waited on hand and foot while her main job is to rest, heal, and take care of her little one. She is excused from all duties and responsibilities. It is not uncommon to take the month long rest in a special facility just for new mom’s, but my friend went back to her childhood home where her mom and sister took care of her.
She eats special foods–including a special “drunken chicken” soup (ie. cooked with rice wine)–and there are several other taboos to avoid and customs to follow during this month long rest.
So, all of that to say, my friend’s son was born on January 22, and I got to meet him on February 23. He was so little and so tiny. I’d forgotten just how small one month old babies are.
What a blessing!!! I look forward to watching him grow into a man after God’s own heart.
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3).
I know Chinese New Year was two weeks ago, but I’ve been on vacation since then and am just now getting around to blogging about it. In past years, I just haven’t blogged about Chinese New Year since I couldn’t blog in "real time." But this year, I set a few short autoposts before I took off on vacation (worship, candy, blessing fruits), and for the rest of this week I want to share a little more about some of the customs and traditions that surround this all important holiday.
So, let’s talk today about red papers. In the first two photos below, you can see one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world and her father pasting red papers around the door to their home and place of business.
Each year new "spring couplets" (春聯) are posted around the door frames of homes. They are left up all year–or until they come down on their own accord. Some get quite weathered and/or faded as the year passes, but they are left till the following year, when they will be replaced by new papers.
These spring couplets can either be purchased factory made, handmade, made to order (while you watch the guy paint/write), or you can make your own. The characters on the papers are written in either black or gold ink–but the paper is always, always red.
My friend’s grandfather made the single four word "blessing" (not "couplet") that hung on my door when I lived in Kaohsiung. The video below shows a man writing the words for blessing that was hung on my Taiwanese father’s home.
These "spring couplets" aren’t simply lines from poems. They are often "lucky words" or words that tell people how to treat others (kinda like the Chinese version of the "golden rule"). If Christian families in Taiwan want to paste "spring couplets" they will choose verses from Scripture or phrases that proclaim how great God is.
I’m not sure why, but calling them "spring couplets" doesn’t quite capture it all. There is also usually a third paper that is pasted on the top of the door and is written horizontally.
In addition to the "couplets," the words "blessing" and "spring" are written on squares of red paper that are at an angle so they look like diamonds.
And, not always, but commonly, these two words are hung upside down (like the gold character in the photo where the man is looking at couplets that are for sale).
Why are they upside down? Glad you asked. In Chinese when you say "your blessing is upside down" it sounds like you are saying "your blessing has arrived." It’s a homophone thing.
(One couple has posted many kinds of factory made "spring couplets" into a flickr set. Worth a quick look if you want to see some of the things that were for sale this past Chinese New Year here in Taiwan.)
Another red thing that gets pasted on both doors and windows throughout Taiwan at this time of year are papers depicting gods. Perhaps he is (they are) the door god(s), but I don’t know. On the main door of the home, usually five papers get pasted. Additional "god papers" are then pasted on to every window and every additional door–both inside and outside.
According to my Taiwanese friends, the Taiwanese believe that by hanging these papers over the doors and windows of their home they are protecting their home from evil spirits. The papers are part of the baibai table on New Year’s Eve, and are pasted up after that.
Is it possible that pasting red papers on door frames once a year has ancient roots in the blood of the lamb and passover?? I don’t know, maybe.
I do know, however, that God loves the Taiwanese and wants to bless them like they never been blessed before.
I recently saw Judy for the first time since the accident last summer.
In some ways, she is still the bubbly, fun-filled girl she has always been, but in other ways fear grips her.
Please join me in praying for Judy. How I long to see her rescued not just for a longer life on earth but for all of eternity. How I long to see her set free from the fears that bind her.
We live in Taiwan--a little tea leaf shaped island in Asia.
Amanda is from Texas and Lawrance from Tainan. We met, fell in love and married in 2008.
We both teach English and both love to tell others about Jesus. We also both really enjoy laughing, and we both just happen to enjoy "ching cha," a type of fabulous green tea.
After writing yesterday’s memory, I just wanted to encourage those of you who are in the midst of extend singleness and longing to get married to consider asking close friends and family for help.
