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Bombing Master Handan Festival in Taitung

Mythical figure Handanin the middle of the exploding Firecrackers that believers shoot at him, in Taitung, Taiwan, on February 10, 2017. Believers shoot firecrackers at a man dressed as the mythical figure Handan. It is the most popular Lantern Festival in Taitung and it began 1954. It is intimately tied to the gangsterism that has long plagued small-town life in Taiwan. Called Bombing Master Handan, the festival is, depending on which legend you believe, a celebration of a former Shang dynasty general (and god of wealth and war) who hates the cold, or a more recent thuggish leader who asked for his followers to blast him to death in payment for his crimes. (Photo by Jose Lopes Amaral/NurPhoto)

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