Spring Festival: Taiwan’s most important festival is the Lunar New Year. This month-long extravaganza sees the whole nation take vacation, travel home and have lots of fun. At midnight on the full moon, fireworks blast evil spirits off the island. This is a noisy but fascinating time to be in Taiwan.

Birthday of the Goddess of the Sea: one of Taiwan’s biggest festivals honors Matsu, the Goddess of the Sea. She is the patron deity of the island’s fishermen, so any coastal town or village will have elaborate and fun festivities on this day. Matsu is enshrined in about 300 temples around Taiwan, and visiting one on this day to witness the rituals can be an amazing experience.

Buddha Bathing Festival: in a celebration that goes back 2,500 years, the birth of the Buddha is honoured at many temples around Taiwan. Devotees make pilgrimages to temples, pray to statues of the baby Buddha and pour herbal water over these statues. The pilgrimage is thought to bring spiritual growth to those who participate.