Hong Kong Yuen Long Jiao Festival: A feast of religion and culture

🌟 The Yuen Long Jiao Festival, held every ten years, will be held from December 2 to 20, 2023, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Yuen Long Kaifong Community in Hong Kong in the Year of the Rabbit. This grand religious ceremony originated from the Qing government's cancellation of the order to relocate the villagers and began to appear after they returned to their hometowns. 🌿 During the Ming and Qing dynasties, praying for peace and worshipping homeless souls were the responsibilities of local officials, but Hong Kong's Dajiao has become localized, with elements of "praying in spring and reporting in autumn, and driving away plague and epidemics." After a long period of evolution, the form and scale of Dajiao in Hong Kong have gradually become standardized, becoming a large-scale religious festival held in specific communities at specific times. 🎭 During every Tai Ping Qing Jiao Festival, a large stage is built in the village to perform "divine performances", which are usually Cantonese operas, but also puppet shows. There are also stalls selling mascots to ward off evil spirits, making the festival very lively. The most famous Jiao Festival in Hong Kong is the Cheung Chau Festival. Currently, there are about forty village conventions that maintain the Jiao custom. 🏮 There are two main functions of building a temple: to pray for the well-being of the community, to protect the country and to fulfill wishes; and to reaffirm social relations and the identity of the people. The dates of the Jiao Festival vary between agricultural and fishing communities. Agricultural communities such as Kam Tin in the New Territories usually hold it in October or November of the lunar calendar, while fishing communities such as Cheung Chau hold it in April or May of the lunar calendar. 🎪 In addition to the meritorious rituals of transcending the souls of the dead and the Cantonese opera, the Tai Ping Qing Jiao Festival also includes a large amount of intangible cultural heritage, including a hand-built bamboo opera stage, which is about 20 meters high and covers an area of ​​about 2,000 square meters, and can accommodate one to two thousand spectators to enjoy the Cantonese opera. I hope these traditional crafts can be passed down forever to our next generation. #Taoism #Sacrifice #TaipingQingjiao #Intangible Cultural Heritage #Shengong Cantonese Opera #Wooden Architecture #Bamboo Shed #Theater Shed #Traditional Culture #Wood Craft