Matsu's Birthday event culminates with feast on island

Two thousand tourists and villagers from surrounding islands, Hong Kong, and Macao joined the celebration of Tin Hau's Birthday on May 18, lowering the curtain on the Wanshan Archipelago Folk Culture Festival.

Tin Hau's Birthday falls on the 23rd day of the third lunar month on Guishan Island. As the last event of the Wanshan Archipelago Folk Culture Festival after Pak Tai's Birthday on Wailingding Island and Goddess Matsu's Birthday on Big Wanshan Island, the closing feast led people to better experience island folk culture.

Tin Hau, Goddess of the Sea, also known as Matsu, is believed to have been born some thousand years ago. Matsu's birthday is one of the largest festivals for villagers of Guishan and surrounding islands. They work at other places but return to the island on this special day. 

Lion dance on Tin Hau's Birthday [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

Following local customs, a percussion team took vessels around the island to worship, showing respect to the sea. A lion dance and firecrackers opened the event, followed by worship at the altar. After that, Tin Hau's icon was carried along the street to Tin Hau Temple. In front, the host chant for everything to go smoothly in the next year with a feast of fishing. At last, participants offered incense and prays.

Experience areas for taking photos and sampling traditional island cuisines were also offered by the event sponsor. Pumpkin pie, Luodou (a variety of leaves holding rice pudding), and Jishiteng (a Chinese herb) cake enticed visitors. A dinner party with 260 tables brought the event into late night, concluding the birthday party.