To introduce the customs of Taiwan’s Hakka people, Chunghwa Post has specially released a set of four stamps on Hakka festivals. The stamps are described below:1. Miaoli Dragon Bombing Festival (NT$8): This refers to the lighting of firecrackers during dragon dances. The more firecrackers, the better the effect, as the smoke makes it appear as if the dragon spirits are weaving through the clouds. A Lantern Festival custom that is unique to Miaoli, dragon bombing has been performed since early days of Hakka settlements in the county. It comprises seven steps: making the dragon, inviting the dragon, dotting the eyes of the dragon, welcoming the dragon, lighting firecrackers around the dragon, following the dragon, and sending off the dragon for his return to heaven. 2. Liudui Defending the City Walls Festival (NT$8): The custom dates to the early years of the pioneering Hakka settlements in Pingtung’s Liudui, when local patrols would light firecrackers to alert the community about enemy incursions. With changing times, it became an activity used to pray to the Hakka Land God for good fortune in spring. 3. Taichung Dongshi Xin Ding Ban Festival (NT$12): In early Hakka agricultural society, villagers would offer rice cakes to the Land God and Goddess to pray for a baby. When their wishes were met, they would then offer thanks with even more rice cakes. These rice cake offerings are known as xin ding ban, or new child cakes. For baby boys, the cakes are molded into turtle shapes; for baby girls, peach shapes. 4. Guoxing Chenggong Festival (NT$12): The festival includes activities that capture the resolute reputation of the Hakka ethnic group, exemplified by the phrase: “Work fervently, ploughing field and slope.” The festival symbolizes the energy and solidarity of the people in Nantou’s Guoxing Township. Each team is composed of seven to eleven members. One is the flag capturer, and the rest push a “battleship” that carries the flag capturer and a statue of Zheng Chenggong. The first team that grabs the flag wins the blessings of Koxinga and thus claims a symbol of “success.”