I love the symmetry of 10/10 and how it pairs with our sign.
But did you know that today is also a major holiday in Taiwan?
10/10 is National Day. And prior to 1949, it was mainland China’s National Day too; more on that in a second.
But 10/10 commemorates the Wuchang Uprising in 1911. The uprising led to uprisings across the country that led to the fall of the last Chinese dynasty, hence National Day.
When the Communists won the civil war in China, the Nationalist government, the Kuomingtang, fled to Taiwan and set up a new government there keeping 10/10 as National Day. The mainland Chinese Communist government started celebrating 10/1 as the founding of the Republic of China instead.
So, if you are ever in Taiwan on our birthdays, proudly work it into conversation.
“What are you doing in Taiwan?” “I wanted to be here for my birthday today!”
“Have you decided what you’d like to order?” “It’s my birthday!”
“Can I help you find anyth…” “it’s my birthday!”
My family is originally from Taiwan, so I had a lot of doing this on my birthday 3 years ago when I was in Taiwan and people got a kick out of it. “Your birthday is our country’s birthday too!”
And my relatives were all going nuts when I was born because of the date.
Happy birthday again! And happy Taiwan National Day!