Cold Food Festival

This is an unusual celebration, hardly known outside Fujian. It has its origins in Taiwan, as most Taiwanese are of Fujian extraction. On 4 April each year, fire and smoke are taboo. According to legend, a court official from 2,000 years ago was burned to death on that day, and in remembrance, the Fujian Chinese used to forgo the use of fire for an entire month.

This abstinence has now become just a single day, on which the residents of Fujian will eat only cold food, such as spring rolls and even cold noodles. Interestingly, these days some people regard the day as a quirky challenge and eat only rather less traditional foods, such as cold cheeseburgers.