China News Service, Meizhou Island, April 12 (Lin Chunyin and Zhou Jianguo) March 23 of the lunar calendar is Mazu’s birthday, and this year marks the 1061 anniversary of Mazu’s birth.
On the 12th (the first day of the third month of the lunar calendar), the "Hometown of Mazu", Meizhou Island, Putian, Fujian, held a variety of folk activities to commemorate Mazu's birthday and kick off the "Mazu's Return to Mother's Home" event.
On the same day, nearly a thousand Mazu believers at home and abroad gathered in the imperial gate square of the Mazuzu Temple on Meizhou Island.
Lin Jinzan, Vice President of the Chinese Mazu Cultural Exchange Association and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mazu Temple in Meizhou, and Weng Qijing, Chairman of the Penghu Ziwei Palace Temple in Penghu, Taiwan, Zhou Hanzhong, Member of the Ziwei Palace in Penghu, Taiwan, representatives of Mazu Temples and local officials from mainland provinces Join the grand event together.
Weng Qijing, Chairman of the Temple of the Ziwei Palace in Penghu, Taiwan, delivered a speech.
Photo by Xu Guorong
On the square, gongs and drums rang in unison, and 50 flag bearers shook the dragon flag with great momentum.
The statues of the Spiritual Mazu from Guangdong, Fujian and other places were lifted by believers. Under the guidance of 30 Meizhou women carrying lanterns, they climbed up the steps to the Tianhou Temple, the ancestral temple, and made a pilgrimage to the ancestors.
The ceremony of raising banners and hanging lanterns.
Photo by Lin Chunsheng
Zhou Qing, chairman of the Putian CPPCC, kicked off the launching ceremony of "Mazu's Return to Her Family".
Various places in the mountain gate performed unique skills, staged "beating drums to welcome guests, gatherings from all over the world" and other ceremonies, and colorful folklore performances such as the electronic three princes, war drums, whistle corners, and dragon dances appeared one after another.
Zhou Qing (middle), Chairman of the Putian CPPCC officially kicked off the launching ceremony of "Mazu Returning to Her Family".
The first from the right is Lin Shaowen, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Meizhou Island.
Photo by Lin Chunsheng
Lin Jinzan said that according to incomplete statistics, since the first month of the first month, there have been 500,000 Mazu admirers from all over the world who have come to the island to worship their ancestors.
The Mazu Temple on Meizhou Island is working hard to improve the hardware and software, making it easier for the ancestors of incense groups at home and abroad to enter the incense.
Representatives from various palaces and temples enter incense.
Photo by Lin Chunsheng
Weng Qijing, chairman of the construction temple of the Ziwei Palace in Penghu, Taiwan, said in a speech that day that the gods on both sides of the strait have the same root and the same blood.
Every Taiwanese believer in Mazu regards Meizhou as the hometown of his soul, "it is even more sacred to be proud of returning to the ancestral temple in Meizhou to give ancestors incense."
Meizhou Island commemorates the 1061 anniversary of Mazu’s birth.
Photo by Lin Chunsheng
Yu Jianzhong, executive vice president of the Chinese Mazu Cultural Exchange Association, said in his speech that "Mazu in the world returns to her mother's home" has become an international exchange brand, which has important cultural value and historical significance.
(Finish)