The government is telling people not to travel on the Dragon Boat Festival, one of Taiwan’s biggest holidays. The holiday falls on June 14 and is traditionally spent with one’s family. But this year, due to the pandemic, the government is encouraging people to stay where they are instead.
Taiwan’s popular YouTubers are telling people to stay put for the Dragon Boat Festival. One says if you say “dragon boat” quickly, it sounds like “very scary” in Chinese - meaning it will be very scary to go home. Another changed the lyrics to a song to say “Just stay home”. Yet another says your parents back home will worry you might get the virus on the way and pass it to them.
One message says if you go back to honor your deceased ancestors, you may become one yourself. A Tainan funeral parlor says, “Go ahead and go home and give me some business!” Another YouTuber says “Don’t be out and about. We know it’s tough.”
People are heeding the warnings as intercity bus ticket sales dropped by 57%. There are also still 30,000 train tickets and 40,000 high speed rail tickets left, which is unheard of for a big holiday. A lot of people have also cancelled their bookings as the tickets are now good for a year. Staying put is the best way to enjoy a safe and healthy dragon boat festival this year.