The worship of Tin Hau is an important part of Tin Hau culture. In some places, when worshipping the Queen of Heaven, in addition to the general three animals, melon and fruit sacrifices, some seafood is also offered, because the good believers believe that the Queen of Heaven is the god of the sea and should like to eat things in the sea; There are also places where "Tianhou clothes" are offered when worshipping the queen of heaven to show the devotion of worshippers. Tin Hau worship activities are definitely not only worship ceremonies to the gods, but also fireworks activities, Tin Hau parades, performances of divine performances and temple fairs in some places, which are beyond the scope of religious worship.
The queen of heaven has a flower cannon
Tin Hau was born on the 23rd day of the third month of the lunar calendar, which is an important day for believers to celebrate the birth of Tin Haau, and it is also a time for the court and local officials to pay homage to Tin Hau in history, which is called "Spring Festival" in ancient times. The celebration of Tin Hau has changed with the times, and the spring festival has become the biggest festival of Tin Hau worship. At present, in addition to the worship activities of believers such as offering incense, paying tribute to the gods, praying for blessings, and asking for divination, the Tin Hau Festival in many places often has large-scale worship ceremonies, parades, temple fairs and divine performances centered on temples. These Tin Hau Festival activities are not the same as the organization and management of the daily operation of the Tin Hau Temple, and generally do not be presided over by the temple celebrations, but have a special committee (the Council) to coordinate all the work, and the participation and financial support of the Tin Hau Festival activities are often some local or industry associations, such as in Hong Kong and Macao, that is, the "Flower Cannon Society". Most of the fireworks festivals in Hong Kong and Macao are non-governmental organizations formed to celebrate the birthday of the gods. Organizing magic performances, organizing lion and dragon dances to celebrate the Birthday, preparing offerings to Tin Hau, and even presiding over the worship and celebration dinner of Tin Hau are all important tasks of the Tin Hau Flower Cannon Festival, so the Flower Cannon Festival is often the actual organizer of the Tin Hau Festival activities. The activities they organize are mainly carried out on the day of Tin Hau's birthday or in the days before and after. In the celebration of Tin Haau's birthday, deciding which member will "sit on the cannon" that year is one of the most important things. In the past, it was carried out in the form of "snatching fireworks", but later due to the frequent violent conflicts, it was changed to "throwing cups" or drawing lots.
"Sitting on the gun"
Take the statue of the queen of heaven home and worship it for a year
"Flower Snatcher"
The firecracker is a decorative object made of bamboo frame paper, with a statue of the Queen of Heaven or a drawing of the Queen of Heaven in the middle. Grabbing the flower cannon is a way to decide who the queen of heaven will be worshipped (sitting on the cannon) back then. At first, firecrackers were used to shoot an object (such as bamboo chips, wood chips, etc.) into the sky, and when it fell, it was grabbed by firecracker members, and later it was changed to a cup toss or a lottery.
"Throwing a Cup"
The "cup" is a half-moon-shaped wooden or bamboo block with flat and curved sides, and is a tool for believers to ask for instructions from the gods. "Throwing a cup" is to throw a pair of cups on the ground, and there are three results: 1. Win the cup (one plane and one arc facing up), 2. Yang cup (two planes up), 3. Treasure cup (two arcs facing up). The winning cup is good, the yang cup is bad, and the treasure cup is neutral.
The Holy Grail of the Queen of Heaven, throw the cup and ask for the opinion of the Queen of Heaven
The Tin Hau Parade is an important event and ritual held in many places on the occasion of Tin Hau's birthday. It is said that when Qianlong toured south, he saw the grand occasion of the queen of heaven going out on patrol and gave the queen of heaven a yellow robe, so later the folk also called the queen of heaven parade "the imperial meeting". In the modern Tin Hau parade, the statue of the Tin Hau Temple is generally placed in the shrine carried by people, and the procession composed of believers is hugged and paraded according to a certain route. The parade is often accompanied by lion dances and costume performances. The Celestial Hau parade is a way for the gods to clear and cleanse the place from the perspective of the devotees, but in the past it was often a means for villages, towns or clans to declare their sphere of influence.
Shengong opera is an opera performance held to celebrate the birthday of the gods or some large-scale traditional festivals, with the purpose of "making merit for the gods", and is the main form of traditional Chinese drama. Among them, the divine drama performed for the queen of heaven is called "the divine drama of the queen of heaven". The drama of the queen of heaven is generally a "stage" for five days, and there is no limit to the type of drama. In Hong Kong, Macao and the Pearl River Delta region, most of them are Cantonese opera. The performance of Shengong Opera has strict procedures from "breaking the stage" to "sealing the stage", which is the rule that the troupe abides by. The repertoire of the Tianhou Shengong Opera also has some fixed content, such as "The Great Seal of the Six Kingdoms", "The Concubine of Heaven Sends a Child" and so on. The vast majority of the Tin Hau dramas are performed by the community themselves.
"Breaking the Table"
"Breaking the stage" refers to a ritual performed by local opera troupes before the performance of the divine opera, which means to clean the stage and pray for the smooth performance of the performance.
"Sealing the stage"
"Sealing the stage" is a ceremony at the end of a miracle opera, with the meaning of sending off the master of the troupe, inviting the ghosts and gods of all parties to disperse, and asking the heavenly officials to bless the local people again.
The Tin Hau Shengong Opera is a popular show in the community